


Missing Puzzle Pieces

by DayDreamerr27



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Coming of Age, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Pride, M/M, Protective Weasley Family (Harry Potter), slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:53:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 65
Words: 167,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28471200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DayDreamerr27/pseuds/DayDreamerr27
Summary: Ophelia Lupin (OC) begins Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the footsteps of her parents Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon. However, as she grows older and spends more time in the magic walls of the castle, family secrets come out to reveal themselves. She will grow up and learn through the mistakes of the past and it is up to her to resolve the family trauma that surrounds her.Beginning story takes place in 1989 for her first year (Cedric's and the Twin's first year as well) and goes to the Battle of Hogwarts.
Relationships: Fred Weasley & George Weasley, OC/ Fred Weasley, OC/Cedric Diggory, Sirius Black/ Remus Lupin
Comments: 16
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Hogwarts Express 1989**

Was it possible to vomit on an empty stomach? Ophelia Lupin was thinking that it was possible as she followed her father through the brick wall between platforms 9 and 10 in King’s Cross. She was going to begin her adventure at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry just like her parents had years ago. As soon as she crashed through the magical barrier, the bright red train appeared before her very eyes.

  
Platform 9 and ¾ was filled with Hogwarts students and their families, sending them off for a magical year at the boarding school. Ophelia closed her bright blue eyes and tried counting to four slowly, a trick her father had explained to her to practice whenever she was feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Her father placed his calm hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. Guilt filled her stomach as well as she saw the exhaustion fill his wise eyes. Last night was a full moon and he insisted on dropping her off despite the changes his body was forced to go through just hours ago. “Alright, O?” 

  
The first year girl smiled tightly and nodded her head. She ran a hand over her black headband that was keeping her curly, dark hair back from her face. “Just a little nervous is all.” 

  
“You’ll meet great people at Hogwarts. I just know it. I was worried about my first year at Hogwarts, too. It’s a completely normal feeling and I would think it odd if you weren’t feeling this way.” He smiled and the scars on his face shifted slightly as he did so. 

  
“Lupin!” A friendly gentleman’s voice boomed over the crowd.

  
Both Ophelia and her father turned around to see a tall man with fiery red hair and four boys with the same bright, red hair surrounding him as they made their way towards the pair. “Arthur! It’s been too long. Is it the twin’s first year at Hogwarts as well? I’m sorry I haven’t brought Ophelia around.” 

  
The man shook her father’s hand in a very enthusiastic manner. “Oh don’t worry about it, Remus. Just know you are always welcome at the Burrow.” He turned his kind eyes to Ophelia and crouched down so that they were at eye level with each other which made her step back slightly out of fear. She wasn’t used to talking to others. Her father and her stayed out of the way in fear that someone would know what her father really was and out them to the public. “I’m Arthur Weasley, dear. You must be the young Ophelia.” He held out his hand to her and raised his eyebrow kindly.

  
Ophelia took a deep breath in and extended her own hand into the Weasley man’s warm grip. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Weasley.”

  
“Oh please, call me Arthur, dear!” He smiled and let go of her hand to point to the oldest of the three boys. “This is Charlie, my second oldest son. He will be going into his 6th year at Hogwarts.” The oldest boy nodded his head towards the girl with a bright smile that matches his father’s. “This is Percy, he is my third oldest and he is going into his 3rd year.” The boy with glasses shoved them up higher up his nose and simply raised his eyebrows at Ophelia. “The twins, Fred and George are also in their 1st year.”

  
“Hello, Ophelia. My name is George.” The boy held out his hand with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. Ophelia looked down at his hand and noticed that there was a wire barely sticking out of his sleeve that looked a lot like a muggle joke shop product that one of her relatives sent her in a past Christmas. 

  
“Nice to meet you, George.” She raised her eyebrows and pulled the wire swiftly causing the contraption to slip into her hand which Ophelia held up accusingly. “Trying to shock me, are you?”

  
“George!” Mr. Weasley looked as red as his hair as he looked between his son and her father in apology.

  
“He’s not actually George! I am! That was all Fred’s idea.” The other identical twin boy shouted in complaint. 

  
“I don’t care which one of you did this. Apologize. Immediately.” 

  
Both of the twins blurted out quick apologies that didn’t sound sincere in one bit. The boy who got caught was giving Ophelia a look between impressed and annoyed. “Looks like McGonnagal and Dumbledore are going to have their hands full with these two.” Her father chuckled and looked at the twins with an odd expression on his face like he was proud and filled with nostalgia. 

  
“You have no idea.” Arthur shook his head as the Hogwarts Express called out a warning bellow that it would be leaving the platform soon. 

  
“Ophelia. Enjoy every moment that you can for me.” Her father pulled her into a tight embrace that caused slight tears to fill in her bright eyes. “Write to me whenever you can. I will miss you.”

  
“I’ll miss you too, dad.” She whimpered.

  
“Help Ophelia with her trunk, Charlie.” Mr. Weasley smiled and turned back to the twins. “I mean it. Not a single toe out of line otherwise you will be getting a howler sent for every meal of the day.”

  
“Is that a promise?”

  
“We might miss yours and mum's voices!”

  
“Boys. Don’t test your mother!” Mr. Weasley threatened as the group loaded onto the train and into a compartment.

  
Ophelia watched as the platform disappeared as the train barreled along the countryside. Her tears didn’t spill out from her eyelashes which she was grateful for but she knew better than to think it didn’t look like she was about to cry. “I’m leaving to go sit with Andre and Penelope. See you all at the feast.” The boy with the glasses sighed as he left the compartment seemingly bored with the present company.

  
“I can’t wait for you guys to meet Tonks! She’s my best friend at Hogwarts.” Charlie beamed to the younger students.

  
“Is she the one that can change into all sorts of things?” One of the twins asked.

  
Charlie nodded excitedly. “She’s also very nice.”

  
“Is she a Gryffindor?” The other twin asked.

  
“No, she’s a Hufflepuff.”

  
“The best Hufflepuff there ever was and ever will be.” A girl with bright blue hair walked into the compartment with a wink at the younger students. “The name is Tonks. Nice to meet y’all.”

  
“These are my younger brothers, Fred and George. This is Ophelia Lupin. Her father fought with my dad and uncles during the first war.” Charlie nodded towards the respective first years.

  
“Nice to meet you.” Ophelia squeaked out and immediately felt herself begin to blush from the embarrassment of still not getting her voice normal from being emotional of saying her goodbyes to her father on the platform.

  
Tonks smiled at the girl and sat next to her. “Are you excited about starting at Hogwarts?”

  
“Err-- I suppose. I’m also really nervous. Both of my parents were in Gryffindor and I’m afraid I will disappoint them by not living up to their potential. My dad was really smart and my mother was a great Quidditch player, or at least that is what my dad says. She passed away during the war.” Ophelia stopped talking as she realized she was rambling and had stolen the conversation in the compartment. 

  
“Quidditch player?” Charlie beamed. “I love quidditch! What was her name if you don’t mind talking about it.” 

  
“Marlene McKinnon. She was a--” 

  
“Beater! Yes, yes. I read all about her in the old Gryffindor files. There are very few female beaters and your mother was fantastic! You should talk to McGonagall about seeing some of her old Quidditch team pictures. Your mother was wicked.”

  
The thought of seeing a picture of her mother filled her chest with hope. She only had two pictures of her mothers, one of her holding her and one of a group photo of the original Order of Phoenix where her mother stood next to Lily Potter. “I didn’t know she was a beater.”

  
“You father didn’t tell you that’s--”

  
“Charlie.” Tonks warned him. 

  
Ophelia turned her attention away from the talking friends and moved her attention to counting her breaths in and out and slowing down her breathing. She messed with the black ring that always sat on her thumb. She knew that she could keep track of her breathing by moving the silver constellation that was engraved on the ring to a full circle. Four full turns of the ring and she felt another person slide into the seat next to her. 

  
“Sorry about earlier, I’m Fred by the way.”

  
“Why should I believe you?” She raised her dark eyebrow and turned her attention to the boy who was smiling mischievously next to her. 

  
“I guess you don’t have any reason to believe me. However, I don’t have any reason to lie to you, do I?”

  
“Except you already did, didn’t you?” She scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. 

  
“How about a truce.” He held out his hand which this time contained no wire. “Both George and I were impressed that you were able to catch onto that prank. You must’ve recognized the joke product.”

  
Ophelia cautiously shook his hand. “Yes. My dad taught me a few pranks and gave me some things that said belonged to his friends from back in school. He doesn’t joke often but when he does, he always warns about being cautious and smart so you don’t get caught.”

  
“Wicked.” The other twin said from across them. “George, by the way. The real George.”

  
“Nice to meet you, real George and real Fred. I’m afraid it might take me awhile to tell you both apart.” Ophelia giggled and tried to spot any differences that were visible to her but failed at doing so. 

  
“Don’t worry about it!” Fred laughed.

  
“Our own parents haven’t been able to tell us apart and they’ve had 11 years of practice!” George added while pulling out a sandwich from his pocket and biting into it. 

  
She smiled and thought about how sad that would be to not have your parents recognize you. Ophelia brushed off the thought as Tonks told her that she was going to change into her robes if she wanted an escort to an area where girls could go change. The first year girl jumped up at the offer since she had no idea where to go.  
  


* * *

  
Once the first years were given a lecture by Professor McGonagal in a private room, Ophelia began to feel like she was going to hyperventilate. Leading up to the sorting hat ceremony, she was waking up in nightmares of the sorting hat declaring her a Slytherin and her father for the first time in his life being disappointed in her. 

  
As the group was escorted into the Great Hall, she felt herself glancing around the room at all the floating candles in the enchanted ceiling that mirrored the starry night outside. A boy by the name of Rodger Davies whispered to her as they walked in about how he read all about the magic that went into the ceiling. Ophelia gulped thinking of all the reading she should have focussed more on or taken notes on possibly if she was already feeling behind and insignificant in the sea of students.

  
“When I call your name, you will step forward and sit down for the Sorting Hat to place you into your respective houses.” Professor McGonagal held up a scroll that had the names of the first years on them. She began to call the names and the small students stepped forward and Ophelia was comforted by the fact that it seemed everyone was walking up with wobbly knees and pale faces. 

  
“Davies, Rodgers!”

  
“That’s me!” The boy said as he practically ran up to the stool. He smiled brightly as the hat barely graced his head and screamed out, “RAVENCLAW!”  
The table next to the blue banners burst into cheers as the young boy ran up to join his house. Of course the boy who knew all about the readings already joined Ravenclaw, Ophelia thought to herself.

  
“Diggory, Cedric!”

  
The boy with bronze hair sat on a stool and bit his lip as the hat seemed to think about the young boy's placement. For the first time that night, the hat bellowed, “HUFFLEPUFF!” 

  
Ophelia saw a flash of bright pink hair stand up and cheer for the young boy as he ran up to the table. If she didn’t get into Gryffindor like her parents, she thought Hufflepuff would be a nice house to join especially since Tonks was so kind to her on the train. She was so lost in thought that she missed where the next person went but refocused for the other students. Two students joined Gryffindor and that table seemed rowdy and rambunctious as a Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson ran to join them.

  
“Lupin, Ophelia!”

  
She gulped and thought about keeping her breathing calm and steady as she walked up to the stool. When the Sorting Hat was placed on her head she almost jumped when she heard a voice fill her brain. “ _Interesting… Ophelia Lupin is it? That’s quite odd I don’t think you match that name… I see a family of strong wizards in your bloodline.”_

  
Ophelia grumbled in her head back to the rude hat. “ _My mother Marlene McKinnon and Remus Lupin were both strong wizards. They fought bravely in the war.”_

  
“ _Oh I know all about them. I placed them into Gryffindor many years ago. However, I think for you I see family members you do not know about with great powers that they learned in their house of Slytherin where the ambitious and cunning learn their ways… perhaps you would do well in the Slytherin house?”_

  
“ _NO!_ ” Ophelia’s eyes shot open and she felt like she was going to begin to cry. “ _I think you are mistaken. I do not know any family members in Slytherin. I would NOT do well in that house. Please, anything but Slytherin. I will do well in any house but Slytherin.”_

  
“ _Oh please, child. None of these houses are to be feared. I see greatness in you. You are very ambitious and clever like Slytherin but I also see you are extremely hard-working and loyal such as those in Hufflepuff. Yes… yes are intelligent but I do not see your talents fitting well in Ravenclaw. Gryffindor you seem to be set on but let me ask you something, child. Why do you want to be in Gryffindor? This is your life, not your parents.”_

  
Ophelia couldn’t think of an answer besides wanting to make her parents proud. “ _I don’t… I don’t know._ ”

  
“ _See, child. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw would not be a fit so not any house would do well for your time at Hogwarts. Now… where to put you…”_

  
“ _Please just not Slytherin…”_ Ophelia kept repeating her mantra in her head to the Sorting Hat as it pondered where to place her.

  
“ _Well… if not Slytherin… how about…_ HUFFLEPUFF!” The last part of the Sorting Hat was shouted out for the entire Great Hall to hear and Ophelia felt like she was going to pass out from relief that the Sorting Hat didn’t put her in the Slytherin house. She felt her legs carry her to the Hufflepuff table where she felt arms wrap around her, she looked up and saw Tonks winking at her. 

  
The Diggory boy gawked at her with wide eyes. “I can’t believe how long the hat took with you! What was it saying to you?”

  
“Err-- it wasn’t sure what house to put me in.” Ophelia admitted.

  
“That’s called a hat stall.” Tonks whispered as the Sorting Hat sorted an Adrian Pucey into Slytherin. “It’s not that common, but don’t worry. The Sorting Hat doesn’t make mistakes and you’re in Hufflepuff for a reason.” The older girl winked down at the girl as the Sortings continued leaving Ophelia to think about who the mysterious family members were that the Sorting Hat mentioned to her that belonged to the Slytherin household. She was sure they weren't the kind of family she would brag about having otherwise her father would have mentioned them. Right? She had no reason to think her father would lie to her... or did she?


	2. Chapter Two: First Year Blunders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The important part that you want to add in your notes in case we are tested on this potion is that you have to remove the cauldron from the flames before you add the porcupine quills. It is very important.” Ophelia looked at Cedric who nodded before writing in his elegant handwriting onto his paper.
> 
> “What is so important about that step?”
> 
> Before she could answer, an explosion went off next to them and the Weasley twins jumped up onto their stools as their cauldron began to melt. Professor Snape waved his wand and cleaned up the mess. “10 points from Gryffindor, each for your clear lack of preparation. Miss. Lupin, why don’t you repeat your warning to the entire class about removing the cauldron from the flames.”

**Chapter Two: First Year Blunders**

Ophelia couldn’t hardly write down information fast enough in all of her classes. She found out that she was a really studious student and spent most of her time in the library on one of the large Oak tables with her books spread out in front of her. Her favorite activity was finding more information on the subjects at hand to get a more well-rounded idea of the magic that she was studying. 

Some of her peers were not as fortunate when it came to studying. Cedric Diggory seemed to be very lost, especially in Potions class. Fortunately, they had double Potions with Gryffindor’s which seemed to be Snape’s least favorite house. He was suspicious of Ophelia at the beginning of their classes but quickly became neutral with her as she always went above and beyond in her work without seeking credit or attention in class due to it. 

When they were told to pair up and begin making Boil-Cure Potion that they had been studying for the past two weeks, Cedric was quick to ask Ophelia to be his partner. “I’m sorry, I just think I’m so helpless when it comes to Potions. I don’t want to upset Snape.”

“I think it would be hard to make Snape more angry than the Weasley twins.” Ophelia joked as she began to organize her notes in front of them. “How about you go and collect the materials we need? Grab dried Nettles, snake fangs, stewed horned slugs, porcupine quills and Flobberworm mucus. Make sure not to grab the fresh horned slugs or the snake skin, Snape put them out to trick those who didn’t do the proper readings.” 

Cedric jotted down her instructions and carefully read it before running up to the table to collect his items. Ophelia began to get the cauldron set up and had her notes in the side of her book to help her remember all the small pieces of information that were easily overlooked during Potions. That is what made this class so fascinating to her, it was easy to overlook things if you were rushing through your work and you could only be good at Potions if you took your time. 

The two Hufflepuff’s began to diligently work side by side. Cedric refused to let Ophelia do all the work and jotted notes for himself and asked questions along the way. Professor Snape approached their cauldron and gave them a slight eyebrow raise of approval before moving on to the next table which happened to be Fred and George. 

“The important part that you want to add in your notes in case we are tested on this potion is that you have to remove the cauldron from the flames before you add the porcupine quills. It is very important.” Ophelia looked at Cedric who nodded before writing in his elegant handwriting onto his paper.

“What is so important about that step?”

Before she could answer, an explosion went off next to them and the Weasley twins jumped up onto their stools as their cauldron began to melt. Professor Snape waved his wand and cleaned up the mess. “10 points from Gryffindor, each for your clear lack of preparation. Miss. Lupin, why don’t you repeat your warning to the entire class about removing the cauldron from the flames.”

Ophelia blushed as the twins stared daggers at her. “Well it is important to take the cauldron off the flames before you add the porcupine quills otherwise you will melt the cauldron and the potion will cause boils rather than removing them.”

“Excellent preparation. 1 point to Hufflepuff.” Professor Snape turned away to face the rest of the class. “Finish your potions and bottle them to hand them in before leaving.”

“What happens about ours, Professor?” One of the twins asked.

“Detention at 5 pm today to finish your potion. On top of detention there will be a 5% taken off your grade for turning it in late, Mr. Weasley. You two may begin cleaning your area immediately.” He smiled at the punishment given to the Gryffindor boy. 

Cedric helped Ophelia pour their potion into the jars and he labeled it for them since he had the better handwriting of the two. “We make a good team, Ophelia!” He smiled warmly at the girl which made her blush.

“Thanks, Cedric.” 

The two Hufflepuff’s cleaned their areas and turned in their potions before walking out of the classroom. As soon as they walked into the corridor two sets of hands grabbed Ophelia’s shoulders. “Let’s have a chat, shall we?” One of the twins smirked down at her as they pulled her in the opposite direction of the Hufflepuff common room.

“I have to go study!” She protested and tried to yank herself free from their grips.

“Oh come on, Lupin. It will only be just a moment.” The other twin promised.

“Hey!” Cedric’s voice boomed as he ran in front of the twins. Stopping them in their tracks. “I don’t think it’s very fair to steal Ophelia like that. If she wants to go with you two she will. Just ask.”

“Oh please, Hufflepuff.” The one twin rolled his brown eyes. 

“We will return your girlfriend in a moment. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

Cedric crossed his arms over his chest. “Calling me a Hufflepuff isn’t an insult. Now let her go.”

The commotion in the corridor was now drawing a crowd. Lee Jordan from Gryffindor and Jacob Tyler from Hufflepuff were now standing behind their respective classmates. “Ophelia doesn’t mind coming with us. Don’t you, Lupin?”

“Umm… well I guess it’s fine. Cedric, will you wait up for me in the common room? If I’m not back in a half an hour make sure to tell Professor Sprout that the Weasley twins killed me.” Ophelia smiled at her friend but behind the joke was a slight worry that the twins were going to kidnap her and take her to the forbidden forest which they were already rumored to have gone to four times in the time that the first years have attended Hogwarts. 

Cedric and Jacob gave her worried glances. “We are going to tell Tonks too just in case Charlie needs to get involved.” 

One of the twins ground his teeth. “We don’t need a babysitter.”

“Come on, Fred. Don’t let them get under your skin. Apparently we are on a time crunch.” George muttered and yanked on Ophelia’s elbow pulling her and Fred in tow. 

Once they were away from the others, the twins tickled a portrait of two knights dueling and revealed a secret closet that they shoved Ophelia in before following inside. “What is your problem, Weasley and Weasley?”

“Potions, obviously.”

“Seeing as you are such a genius when it comes to Potions…”

“We were hoping that you could help us.” They said it together finally.

She scoffed. “Help you? Why would I do that? You two aren’t even nice to me.”

“Here is a proposition. You help us with Potions and we make sure that you avoid getting pranked all first year, right Fred?” George smiled encouragingly at his twin.

“That’s right, Georgie. We are going to make sure you aren’t the target of any of our specialties as long as you can give us your notes for Potions.” Fred declared with a large smile on his freckled face.

“No deal.” Ophelia scoffed and crossed her arms over her Hufflepuff jumper. “I will not simply give you my notes, that could qualify as cheating possibly and I don’t want to get on Professor Snape’s bad side like you two. I meet in the library with Cedric every Tuesday and we work on Potions if you would like to join.”

“We would prefer to not have it so open that we are struggling in Potions.” 

“How about meeting another day?”

Ophelia thought about this and sighed. “Fine. We can meet every Wednesday and I will help you guys with whatever we are currently working on. I will not just let you copy my work though. Deal?”

“Deal.” They agreed in unison.

That was how her weird study dates in the library came to be. When she was sitting at her favorite oak table with her books displayed in front of her she was almost shocked when the twins came to sit next to her on time that they promised. “Good evening, Lupin.” They chimed together with matching smirks as they sat across from her.

“Wow. I didn’t realize you boys were so punctual. I’m impressed.” She chuckled before handing them her potions book. “I have notes written in the sides of my textbook. I want you guys to read over this and copy down my notes and then I will help you answer some questions on the paper we have.” 

“I thought you weren’t letting us copy your notes, wasn’t that right George?” Fred wiggled his eyebrows.

“That was what I heard, Freddie.”

“This is just a few notes that are essential to the potions. I have more thorough notes for my paper that I’m not letting you boys copy but I will answer your questions if you have them.” She sniffed and tossed her dark curly hair behind her shoulder.

“You Hufflepuff’s play by the rules too much.” George teased her while beginning to copy down her small handwriting that was cramped into the spaces in her secondhand potions textbook. 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Ophelia laughed and tried to push the thought of how she would act if she was placed into Slytherin like the sorting hat wanted a couple months ago.

* * *

Time passed by fast at Hogwarts. She spent all of her time at the library, rotating her study partners between Cedric, the twins, or doing some solo research on extra topics. She was obsessed with learning everything about magic and becoming the best possible witch that she could be. Currently, she was reading all about quidditch since they were to begin flying lessons soon which she was deathly afraid of. She had big shoes to fill with her mother being such a star quidditch player like Charlie said. 

They had flying lessons with Slytherin. Cedric walked to the pitch with Ophelia and was telling her all about flying and how fun it was. She was so nervous that she felt like throwing up in the grass. “Looking a little green, Lupin. Are you sure you didn’t belong with us in the Slytherin house?” Terrance Higgs snickered as Adrian Pucey clapped his hands at his joke above Cedric and her head. 

“Ophelia is a true Hufflepuff. She’s incredibly hard-working and loyal.” Cedric stood up for her and stepped in front of her, shielding her from the snickers that the Slytherin first-years were now directing towards her.

She felt a small hand on her shoulder and allowed her fellow dorm mate, Grace Thorne to lead her towards the brooms and away from the taunts and jokes of the Slytherin house. Ophelia wouldn’t allow the Slytherin boys to know it but part of her always wondered if she did belong in that house. The Sorting Hat seemed determined that she would be a good fit but the way they acted caused her to shudder. She certainly felt like she was more sarcastic and quick to anger than her other classmates in Hufflepuff but surely she wasn’t as cruel as the Slytherins as they criticized people for things they couldn’t control like their weight, blood status, and family wealth. 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Madame Hooch. “Alright everyone, I want you to make sure that no one goes before I blow my whistle. Flying can be incredibly dangerous and I don’t want to have any trips to see Madame Pomphrey. Understood?”

“Yes, Madame Hooch.” All of the Hufflepuff and Slytherin first years chimed together in perfect unison. 

She walked all the young students through the basics of what to do with the broom. As soon as the broom shot up into Ophelia’s hand she felt a jolt of excitement go through her body. The magic from the broom seemed to course through her arm as if it was an extension of her body rather than an accessory that she would ride. “Wicked.” She whispered to Cedric who grinned down at her as he gripped his own beat-up Hogwarts broomstick in his dominant hand. 

“Alright, now swing your legs over the broom but keep both feet planted firmly on the grass! Good.. good. Excellent work. Now on my count you will push off and hover over the ground. I don’t want anyone going higher than 6 feet. On my count ladies and gentleman… one… two… three.” Madame Hooch blew her whistle after her count and everyone pushed off.

Cedric and Ophelia floated in glee next to each other. “I can’t believe I haven’t tried flying before! My father always insisted it was dangerous but I knew my mother played Quidditch!”

“Over the holidays you should visit me and we can play Quidditch at my house. My father doesn’t mind.” Cedric insisted with a playful look in his normally friendly eyes. 

“That sounds like fun!” Ophelia agreed.

“How cute.” Adrian Pucey drawled. “Diggory and Lupin are setting up a date already for holiday.”

“Jealous are you?” She snapped at the dark headed Slytherin boy.

“My, my, Lupin. That doesn’t sound very just and friendly to me.” He teased back before Madame Hooch blew her whistle and turned the classes attention back to her directions about flying and quidditch. 

Later on that evening at dinner, Fred and George came over the Hufflepuff table and sat down next to Cedric and Ophelia. “We heard a wicked rumor that you taunted Pucey.”

“So what if I did.” She stabbed a roasted potato and shoved it into her mouth not caring that it burned her tongue. “Why is everyone so obsessed with me defending myself. Hufflepuff’s aren’t spineless people.”

“We didn’t say that, did we George?” Fred asked, turning his gaze to his twin.

George shook his head. “No. No. We came to worship you. We hate Slytherin.”

Before she could tell what they were about to do. The twins got on their knees and began to bow and shouted throughout the entire Great Hall, “All hail, Queen of the Hufflepuffs!”

“Will you two knock it off!” Ophelia ducked under her hands to hide her growing blush that was spreading up her neck onto her cheeks. “You’re embarrassing me!”

Cedric couldn’t stop giggling from beside her. “Queen of the Hufflepuff’s… it has a nice ring to it although being a first year it’s a little ambitious don’t you think?”

“Well I didn’t come up with it.” She grumbled as the twins sat back down while they were cackling from the attention from the other tables of confused students. “Could you two ever act normal for two seconds?”

“We tried when we were infants.” Fred stretched his arms over his head.

“Wasn’t for us.” George added on with a grin. 

From that point on, the twins would eat dinner with the two Hufflepuffs as if was the most normal thing in the world and if they didn’t almost get in a fight after Potions a few weeks ago. Ophelia couldn’t help but wonder if this is what her father had told her about friends appearing to her at Hogwarts when she needed them. She had to admit if she had to pick her friends, she didn’t think she ever would have picked the prankster Weasley’s and the friendly Diggory boy. It shouldn’t work but somehow, they were the perfect fit for Ophelia and they always knew what to say whether it was Cedric calming her down or the twins making her laugh. 

She also served a purpose. Ophelia helped them through school work and made sure that they were organized and prepared for all of the academics that were ahead of them. She was honored to help them and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. She had to admit. Hogwarts wasn’t so bad after all when she had them and could ignore Pucey and Higgs.


	3. Chapter Three: Holiday with the Weasley’s

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You can’t stay here!” Fred complained. “That’s just wrong to be alone at Hogwarts on such a happy holiday. I will not stand for it.”
> 
> “You won’t stand for it? Is that so?” Ophelia scoffed and finished her sentence before placing her quill down next to the parchment to let her paper dry. “And what is your master plan since you boys always are thinking two steps ahead.”
> 
> “That’s a compliment.” George pointed out with a grin on his freckled face with his slightly wider eyes showing the gleam of pride.
> 
> “Don’t let it go to your head, Weasley.” She laughed.
> 
> “Let us write to our parents and you can come join us for Christmas!” Fred decided and pulled out a parchment and quill to begin writing without even her consent to go for the holiday.

**Chapter Three: Holiday with the Weasley’s**

Holiday was fast approaching and for most students they were looking forward to returning home and being with their families. However, Ophelia’s father was sadly going to be in a different country participating in some experimental potions to see if they lessened his changes for the full moon. She couldn’t just tell people that was the case so instead she was lying and saying that she hated being home for the holidays. 

“Hate the holidays!” Fred declared. “That’s just ridiculous!” Ophelia was proud of herself that she was beginning to notice the trivial differences between the twins. 

“What, Fred. Like Christmas is that special. What does your family do?” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and pretended to focus really hard on her History paper that was almost near completed for Professor Binns. 

“Weasley Christmas’ is so fun!” George chimed in. “Mum is the best cook and she always makes all of the fixings and she makes everyone jumpers. They’re so soft!”

She smiled softly at the picture in her head of all of the red-headed clan wearing matching knit jumpers. “That does sound nice. Too bad I’m not going home for the Holiday’s.”

“You can’t stay here!” Fred complained. “That’s just wrong to be alone at Hogwarts on such a happy holiday. I will not stand for it.”

“You won’t stand for it? Is that so?” Ophelia scoffed and finished her sentence before placing her quill down next to the parchment to let her paper dry. “And what is your master plan since you boys always are thinking two steps ahead.”

  
“That’s a compliment.” George pointed out with a grin on his freckled face with his slightly wider eyes showing the gleam of pride.

“Don’t let it go to your head, Weasley.” She laughed.

“Let us write to our parents and you can come join us for Christmas!” Fred decided and pulled out a parchment and quill to begin writing without even her consent to go for the holiday.

“Freddie. What if my father doesn’t want me to go?” She pointed out.

“Oh come on. You dad loves our dad. I’m sure it will be fine.” Fred charged on without pausing in writing his letter to his parents.

“She might have a point, Fred.” George pondered. “You should write to your father right away and ask for permission to go, if you want of course.” 

Ophelia bit the inside of her cheek. Of course it would be nice to be at someone’s house for the holiday but she wasn’t sure if it would be like she was intruding. From what the twins and Charlie talked about, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had 7 children all together. Bill had just moved out of the house to go study about curse breaking but that left 6 kids. Their younger brother Ron would only be 9 years old and Ginny the sister would be 8. She wasn’t sure if she even knew how to talk to younger children. Sure they would be like the twins, she assured herself. Unless they were cold like Percy. 

She inhaled sharply and decided to take a leap of faith. “Alright. I’ll write to my dad and ask for permission. But if he says no, I’m not going to push the matter at all. Alright? You have to respect whatever he decides.”

The twins nodded enthusiastically. Once Ophelia and Fred were done writing the letters, the three students ran up to the Owlery. They sent off their letters and were laughing as they went down the stairs making grand plans of playing Wizards Chess and Exploding Snap in front of a warm fire while eating cookies. They were interrupted by a severe voice, “Shouldn’t you three be in the Great Hall with the others for dinner?” Professor Snape growled as he walked towards the Owlery.

“We were heading that way right now, sir.” Ophelia promised and had to shove the twins when they opened their mouths, sure to say something disrespectful to the professor. 

He nodded. “Go on, you two. I need to talk to Miss. Lupin.” Snape’s black eyes dared the twins to argue from him as if he was dying for an excuse to take more house points away from Gryffindor.

“See you at dinner.” The twins muttered as they dashed down the stone stairs, desperate to put as much space between them and their least favorite professor.

Professor Snape turned his black eyes to Ophelia and she gulped. “Do think of your future, Miss. Lupin. I understand you are only a first year but the friendships you make at the beginning of your time at Hogwarts make a lasting impact. Some Gryffindor’s you need to be warry about.”

She nodded and bit her tongue. Ophelia wanted to ask Snape if he knew this from experience. As if he could read his mind he let out a small bark of a laugh. “You’re a smart girl. I’m sure you are going to figure lessons out for yourself. You don’t need stories from others to guide you.”

“Professor Snape…” She called as he began to walk away. When he turned back to face her she gave him the faintest of smiles. “Thank you for the words of advice.”

“Advice is only useful if it is followed. Remember that.” 

* * *

“The Weasley’s” Cedric demanded as the two of them were saying their goodbyes in the Hufflepuff common room. “I thought you would come over to my house before you visit them! We have been friends for longer!”

“It’s not a competition, Ced.” She laughed. “Besides, they asked. I didn’t want to be stuck at Hogwarts I don’t think. My dad doesn’t know your dad as well as he knows Mr. Weasley. I’m sure I will be able to visit in the summer.”  _ Once every month for sure during the full moon when I’m not allowed to be near my father _ , she thought to herself bitterly. 

“I’m taking you up on that, O!” He laughed. “We need to see who can fly the fastest and I bet you could have a knack for being a beater like your mom or perhaps a chaser! I’ll help you learn all about quidditch and the actual practice of it, not just reading about it like you do.”

“Not the seeker position?” She teased knowing that Cedric dreamed of being the Hufflepuff seeker once the current 7th year seeker retired from her position. 

The look on his face was one that she wished she would have documented forever with a magical camera. His eyebrows were almost in his hairline and he looked like he had forgotten to speak as if face began to grow more red with anger. “You have to be kidding me.”

“Of course I’m messing with you, Ced. I know that position is yours and I’ll fight anyone who tries to take it from you.” She jokingly nudged his shoulder as he began to calm back down and readjusted his scarf that was tightly wrapped around his neck. “Come on, let’s head down so we don’t miss the train, silly.”

The two first years were startled when arms wrapped around their small shoulders. “Excited for holiday?” Tonks animatedly sang into their ears. “Make sure to cause the Weasley’s lots of trouble for me, Ophelia. Especially Charlie. The git has been bragging about Gryffindor’s quidditch season to me for the past week and I want to pull all my hair out of my head!”

Ophelia giggled and nodded quickly up and down. “Oh I’m sure the twins will help me with that if I ask nicely.”

Cedric grunted from next to them. “Well I better be going. I told Rodger Davies I would sit with him on the train. Anyways… have a good holiday you two!”

Tonks helped Ophelia with her large and bulky trunk. “I’ve visited the Weasley’s before and their mother makes the best cookies! Will you sneak me some back to Hogwarts? It’ll be our little secret.” Her eyebrows wiggled on her eyebrow animatedly and she winked mischievously down to the first year Hufflepuff.

“What will be your little secret?” Charlie demanded as he ducked into the compartment with a yellow knit hat with a fighting lion in front of it to signify Gryffindor. “You Hufflepuff’s aren’t keeping any secrets from your favorite Weasley’s are you?”

Tonks shook her head. “Sorry, Charlie. This is between us girls. Right, O?” 

Ophelia giggled and nodded her head. It felt so comforting to be with Nymphadora. She was always so friendly with just the right dash of mischief to mess with others. Of course, this is why Professor Sprout always would shake her head and remind her of the house cup and to behave around others. 

Fred, she could tell by his slightly more angled eyebrows, scooted into the seat to her right and held out a piece of parchment paper that was folded multiple times. “Here, take this. It’s our game plan for the holiday.”

“Game plan?” Ophelia began to unfold the parchment when George’s hands flew on top of hers.

“Not here!” He looked at Charlie with an accusing glare that his older brother didn’t even notice since Tonks and him were in a heated debate about something in the seats across from theirs. “We planned a prank out on our younger brother, Ron. You’ll meet him, Ginny, and Bill over break. Ginny is going to help us as well but Ron will be expecting that.”

“We are going to use you because he won’t see it coming.” Fred chuckled. “Now put that away in your pocket so no one else sees it. We would’ve involved you in the planning but--”

“You weren’t in the Gryffindor dormitory, of course.” George informed her.

Ophelia rolled her eyes and shoved the parchment into her jeans pocket. “Will we have a chance to play some quidditch at your place?”

Both boys beamed at the proposition. “Of course! Weasley’s love quidditch.”

“We don’t have many brooms… mom and dad get some hand-me down ones from our relatives so they won’t be as nice as the Hogwarts ones.” George blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Hope you don’t mind.”

She shook her head. Not having money isn't something she thought to be embarrassed about. In fact, the only reason she had new robes was from her money that her mother left her. Her father had a hard time finding jobs often when people would discover what he was, they would have to move and start over. He refused to dip into her account that her mother left her so he always wore the most ragged robes and shoes with holes in them. Ophelia always begged him to not dress her in new clothes when his were so worn, but of course, her father refused, insisting that he wanted to give her a better life than his. “I won’t mind one bit! I do need to practice flying. Cedric offered to help me but I don’t think he will know as much as your older brother will and of course he helped you lot learn to fly.”

“You were a natural I heard in flying lessons.” Fred chuckled. “We loved hearing in Defense Against the Dark Arts how Higgs was worried about what you would look like on a broom with a bit more practice. It seems like Slytherin is worried that Hufflepuff would become a threat.”

“As if.” George chuckled and dodged a swat from Ophelia. “Not that you aren’t a threat of course! I’m sure you’re a great player.”

They spent the rest of the train ride joking around and talking animatedly about quidditch. When they rolled up to King’s Cross, Charlie grabbed Ophelia’s old trunk and slung it easily out of the train. “Weasley’s!” A kind faced woman smiled brightly at the boys, who were now also joined by Percy. “Ah, and you must be Ophelia. Lovely to meet you dear. My name is Molly, Arthur told me about you staying with us. We are so happy to have you. I’m sure Ginevra will be happy to have another girl to play with.” Instead of shaking her hand like Arthur Weasley, Ophelia was pulled into a tight embrace as if she knew Molly Weasley for ages instead of just meeting the matriarch of the Weasley family.

She already felt like part of the family.

* * *

Back at the Burrow, she was bunking with Ginny Weasley. The two Weasley women had already set up a small cot for her with a knit blanket thrown on top of it and a pillow. The small girl showed her around the Burrow while the others were putting their trunks away in their respective rooms. Ophelia was feeling overwhelmed since there were so many stairways in the magical house. It was much larger than the small two bedroom home that her father and her lived in. “My room is on the first floor. I’ll show you to the others! Fred, George, and Percy all live on the second floor.” 

The girls weaved their way through the stairway. Once they reached the second floor, Percy looked at the girls from his spot reading on his bed before getting up to shut the door with an annoyed and pompous look on him. “Lovely, isn’t he?” Ginny shook her head before banging on the door. “That was quite rude, Percy!”

The other door that was slung open revealed two twins rolling around on the ground, fighting with each other. Ginny without any hesitation jumped on top of the two boys. “Hey you lot! Break it up! I’m giving the Weasley tour and you are ruining my marvelous guide.”

Fred and George jumped up and laughed at each other before playfully shoving each other, leading Ophelia to think they weren’t actually fighting at all. She knew that sometimes siblings would do that but it was hard for her to comprehend since she never grew up with anyone other than her father and he was such an easy going person that he would never raise her voice to her. Even when she tipped over a glass vase and deserved it. “Sorry, Gin.” Fred messed his younger sister’s red hair. “We were just messing around.”

“Well if you will be too kind and let mum know that Ophelia is all moved in, I’m just giving her a tour.” Ginny grabbed Ophelia’s wrist and pulled her up to another floor. “The third floor has Bill and Charlie’s room. You could’ve stayed in Bill’s room but he will be visiting for the holiday that’s why you’re bunking with me. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all! I will warn you, apparently I can talk in my sleep sometimes, that’s what Grace told me at least.” Ophelia blushed slightly at remembering the horror of talking about a werewolf attack in her sleep from her common nightmare of being attacked by her own father. 

“That’s wicked! Me too!!” Ginny’s bright blue eyes lit up with excitement. “I like you, I think we are going to get along well. Especially if you can put up with the twins. Anyways, this is Charlie’s room. Doesn’t look like he is here but he is obsessed with Quidditch and Dragons. His room is covered in posters about the two. Over here is Bill’s room. It’s pretty bare. It’s usually used as a guest bedroom when he isn’t here. He took all of his personal items with him when he went on for his mastery training in curse breaking.”

“Let me guess…” Ophelia began eyeing the next set of stairs with exhaustion. “There’s another floor?”

“Two actually.” Ginny giggled. “Come on! The fourth floor is where mum and dad live. We won’t go in there so we are actually heading directly to the fifth floor where Ron lives!” 

The girls took the stairs two at a time to race up to the top. Ginny, having experience running up five flights of stairs when she wanted to talk to her brother, won. “Ron! The twins’ friend is here. Come out and meet her, you git.” The girl pounded her freckled fist on his bright orange door. 

When the door swung open, Ophelia thought the room was on fire. Everything was that same shade of orange as his door. She noticed that on the orange wallpaper he had posters of the Chudley Cannons plastered all over. “What do you want?” Ron groaned. “Oh… er… sorry I thought it was just Gin. I’m Ronald Weasley.”

“Ophelia Lupin. Nice to meet you.” She smiled at the boy who was taller than her, despite being two years younger. 

“I hope you aren’t showing her the attic. The ghoul has been rather loud today.” Ron looked warrily at his sister.

“Of course not. We are actually going back down to the kitchen. Mum made food.” At the mention of food, Ron shoved past the two girls and Ginny complained about him being rude to the guest of the house before shoving him back so the girls could run back down the five flights of stairs to beat Ron to the table that looked like it was going to collapse under the weight of all of the food. 

* * *

That is how the days at the Burrow lasted. Ophelia would try to keep up with the siblings behaviors and decipher what was actual fighting and what was playful fighting. It appeared that the twins loved antagonizing Ron. Ginny was too bright for her young age to be tricked and Charlie always threatened to make them regret it if they pranked him. That led the twins to turn their gaze onto the youngest brother. 

Ophelia knew from her parchment that their big plan was to trick Ron into eating a trick candy that would give him a pig nose, tail, and voice, rendering him speechless unless it was to snort. She thought the prank was cruel but knew that it was important to the twins. Her job was to leave the candy laying out for Ron to steal. Before she met him, she thought that surely someone wouldn’t just take and eat something that wasn’t theirs but after meeting the youngest Weasley boy, she knew that Ron would most certainly do that. It was shocking to her that he was still so skinny and gangly since he ate non stop. 

Today was the day of the prank since it was also the day that Bill would arrive so there would be a lot of commotion going around at the Burrow. Ophelia was rather excited to meet the Curse Breaker from Egypt. She had never traveled out of the country and wondered how it was in that country. The floo interrupted her thoughts as a tall, red-headed man walked out with a bright smile on his face. “Bill!” Mrs. Wesley exclaimed and dashed towards her oldest son and wrapped her short arms around him. “We’ve missed you so much!”

Bill wore a leather jacket and had long hair in a ponytail at the base of his neck that Mrs. Weasley was currently criticizing claiming he needed a haircut. He was rather tall and handsome. She noticed that he even had an earring with a fang dangling from it. Ophelia couldn’t help but notice that the older boy looked rather cool and dangerous. “Oi, stop blushing while you look at my brother.” Fred joked and poked her in the ribs.

“He’s a little too old for you don’t you think? 18 to 11? Quite a big age gap if you ask me.” George added while he messed with Ophelia’s hair in a playful manner. 

“Oh you two, knock it off. I’m not blushing.” She stamped her foot onto both of theirs making them jump up and down from the slight pain.

“This is Ophelia Lupin.” Mrs. Weasley gestured towards the Hufflepuff girl who was currently getting death glares from the twins. “She’s staying in Ginny’s room with us over the holiday’s. The twins invited her.”

“How nice! I’m Bill Weasley.” They shook hands and were interrupted by Percy finally appearing from his bedroom to talk to his oldest brother. Despite his bad-boy appearance, Ophelia wondered why Percy would look up to him. 

“Now.” Fred whispered into Ophelia’s ear, causing her to jump from the closeness. 

“Place the candy box on the armchair while no one is looking.” George added while raising his chin towards the plush armchair in front of the fireplace. 

Ophelia ducked around the family that was reuniting and placed the candies on the chair while Ginny was serving as a look out while the twins distracted Ron while making fun of him. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her limbs as she thought that this was the first prank that she was assisting the twins with. They always had crazy pranks at Hogwarts and were getting in trouble left and right with the professors. Perhaps this is what Snape was warning her about, turning down a path of breaking the rules. She thought it seemed rather fun right now as she snuck back towards the twins.

After Bill was reunited properly, the Weasley’s began to get ready for the joyous evening of Christmas Eve. Mrs. Weasley was beginning to make the famous cookies that Tonks had begged Ophelia to swipe a few to bring back to Hogwarts for her. Bill was charming the lights to go around the small living room while Charlie was helping Ginny put the bright red ornaments onto the Christmas tree that Mr. Weasley brought in. Ophelia found herself cutting out paper snowflakes with Fred and George to hang up around the room when they heard a loud and panicked snort from the chair.

Everyone turned around to see Ron turning into a mixture of himself and a pink pig. Fred and George boomed into laughing fits while Charlie, Bill, and Ginny tried to hide their giggles for their brothers sake. Percy, who was setting the table, peered around the corner and rolled his eyes at the antics. Mrs. Weasley did not look amused one bit. “Fred! George! What on earth did you do?”

Ron turned to his mother and tried opening his pig snout to explain what was going on but instead of his voice, snorts were coming out again. He looked like he was going to throw up. Mrs. Weasley whipped her wand out and began the process of removing the charms that were in affect on her son. “You two, you are to be the last to get dinner tonight! Do you understand?”

The twins shrugged and high-fived each other when their mother wasn’t looking. Ron went into the kitchen once he was transformed back into a 9 year old boy instead of a pig to help his mother finish the baking. “Wicked.” George whispered to Ophelia. “I think since you’re here mum didn’t go into a full rant.”

“I wonder how long that will last.” Fred laughed. “Surely if you keep coming around mum will feel more comfortable giving us lectures. But for now, let’s enjoy the peace and quiet.”

Ophelia couldn’t help but giggle because the living room was far from quiet. There was Christmas music playing on a bewitched record player while Charlie and Bill were talking about Egypt. Ginny was singing along to the music while she danced around the Christmas tree, decorating it for tomorrow morning when they would open presents. The twins and Ophelia went back to cutting out the snowflakes and were laughing about the success of their first prank. She couldn’t help but feel so at peace with the noise and feel guilty for enjoying her time when her dad was probably miserable since it was the night of the full moon. She pushed the thought to the back of her head since there was nothing she could do to help him. 

* * *

The next morning, Ginny woke Ophelia up by jumping on her cot. “We’ve got to go downstairs and open the presents! Let’s go! I want us to get a good seat on the couch before the others get there!”

The young girl grabbed Ophelia by the wrist and yanked her up from bed. They dashed down the stairs and found that only Mr. and Mrs. Weasley was downstairs in the living room for now. “Good morning, girls!” Mr. Weasley chimed animatedly from his seat in an armchair next to the roaring fire.

“Looks like you two are going to get some good seats this year.” Mrs. Weasley smiled as they plunked down onto the love seat next to the christmas tree. “Here comes the others it sounds like.”

The stairs began to boom with life as it sounded like four sets of footsteps were racing down the stairs. Sure enough, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron, came barreling down into the living room. “Oh no fair!” Ron complained. “Ginny always gets here so fast because she lives on the first floor.”

While he was complaining the twins slipped onto the rug in front of the love seat in front of the girls. Bill and Percy hopped down the stairs, clearly not racing like the other boys. “Morning, ladies.” Fred winked.

“Merry Christmas!” George added.

“You lot ready to get your Weasley jumpers?” Ginny leaned in as she eyed the lumpy wrapped gift that her mother handed her. “I hope mine isn’t pink this year. Last year it was pink and I hate pink.”

“What’s a Weasley jumper?” Ophelia asked, trying to not sound dumb. 

“Mum knits us jumpers every year.” Fred said.

“Looks like you got one too!” George chuckled while Mrs. Weasley handed Ophelia a package that was wrapped in a checkered paper.

“Okay, Weasley’s! On the count of three… one… two…” Before Mrs. Weasley could get to three, the sound of paper being ripped and excited voices filled the living room. Ophelia opened up her package and was touched to see that she had received a jumper in Hufflepuff yellow with a large black, O knit onto the front. 

“Hey I got a pink one this year.” George chuckled holding up a pink jumper with a G knit onto the front of it. 

“Oh dear, I think I mixed yours up with Ginny’s.” Mrs. Weasley fretted.

“No takes back!” George called loudly and put the far too small jumper over his head. The bottom of the jumper only went to his belly button since it was made for Ginny who was an entire head shorter than him.

“Wicked, I got Gryffindor red and yellow then.” Ginny smiled as she put on the oversized jumper over her head.

“Now we are twins!” Fred smiled and pointed at his matching colors to Ginny’s jumper.

The Weasley’s all put on their jumpers and gave Mrs. Weasley hugs to thank her for putting in the time to make them before they went to eat breakfast. Ophelia gave Mrs. Weasley another hug while the others were sitting down for breakfast, “Mrs. Weasley… thank you so much. You really didn’t have to do this and I appreciate it so much. Thank you for treating me like one of your own.”

“Oh, dear. Anytime. You are welcome at the Burrow whenever you want. This is your home too, dear.” She gave Ophelia a kiss on the top of her dark curly head before they rushed to join the others in the kitchen.

Ophelia felt like she was a member of the clan and was filled with such joy in her heart that she felt like it was going to burst. She knew that Cedric and her father would’ve loved to spend the holiday with her but in this moment, she was so happy that the twins had asked her to come to the Burrow. It was the most perfect Christmas that she has had since she could possibly remember and it was all thanks to the Weasley’s. 


	4. Chapter Four: Class Ranks and Playing Pranks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ophelia crashed right into them as they laughed loudly. “Will you two get out of my way, I’m trying to go and study.”
> 
> “It’s a weekend!” George protested.
> 
> “Yea, that should be illegal!” Fred added.
> 
> “Well, some of us don’t like to wait until the last minute to finish everything. Besides, all of the older students won’t be in there so it’ll be more quiet than usual.” She tried walking around them but Fred grabbed a hold of her shoulders. “Will you quit it!”
> 
> “We have something planned and we need your help with it.” Fred whispered with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. 

**Chapter Four: Class Ranks and Playing Pranks**

When everyone came back to school after Holiday, Cedric was excited to show her all of the new Hufflepuff themed quidditch gear that his father had gifted him. “So your father is almost certain you’ll make the team next year?” Ophelia smiled at her friend as she felt the soft, leather, quidditch gloves that he was gifted that were advertised for seekers. 

“I practiced almost every day of break. It was so much fun! But, hey, enough of me. How did your break go?” Cedric stuffed the gloves back into his trunk at the foot of his four-poster bed as Ophelia brushed her fingers against the yellow curtains that were hanging off of it.

“It went really well. I spent it at the Burrow and stayed with the Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny. She was so funny and really hot-headed for her young age. I have no doubt that when she comes through Hogwarts she will be in Gryffindor like the rest of the lot. I helped the twins play a prank and I got to hear all about Egypt from their older brother Bill! Oh, I almost forgot. I stole Tonks some Christmas cookies and I brought back some fudge for you!” She reached into her robe pocket and pulled out the carefully wrapped fudge that she had slipped there before going to the boys dormitory. “Here, take it!” 

“Cheers!” Cedric beamed as he bit into the chocolate dessert. “I also brought you back something.”

She turned slightly red as she thanked her friend for the brightly wrapped package. With careful fingers, she peeled back the golden gift wrapping to reveal a magical picture of the two of them that was taken during the first semester at Hogwarts by Tonks with her camera. “Mum, picked out the frame. I have a copy too!” He dug into his trunk to reveal a matching picture of the two eleven-year olds smiling and waving at the camera at a Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw Quidditch match. Both Cedric and Ophelia were decked out in Hufflepuff gear and their cheeks and nose were slightly pink from the cold wind. He placed his copy of the picture on his nightstand next to his practice snitch that he loved to toss around when he was thinking.

“This is so thoughtful, Ced! Thank you!” She leaped up from leaning against one of the four-posters and wrapped Cedric into a tight hug. “This is the best Christmas present, ever. Thank you.”

Cedric blushed at her compliment and rubbed his hair, avoiding meeting her gaze. “It was no big deal. Honestly. Mum picked out the frame and Tonks sent me the picture.”

“It still means a lot to me that you thought of getting me a gift. I’m sorry I didn’t get you one. Money is kind of tight in my family.” She blushed now but because she wasn’t able to repay his kind gesture.

“You don’t get someone a gift because you expect one in return, silly.” Cedric poked her side jokingly as they began to walk out of the boys dormitory so that they could go down for dinner. “You get someone something because you want to. Besides, you stole me some fudge and that’s pretty wicked.”

Ophelia smiled down at the picture, thinking back to the fun times that the two Hufflepuff friends had together and was so thankful to have someone as kind as Cedric in her life. She made a mental note to thank Tonks as well for taking the time and using part of her film to take a picture of the two Hufflepuff first-years. As odd as it sounded, the 16 year-old girl was also one of Ophelia’s friends despite their age gap. 

* * *

The professors seemed to not care that the exams were months away. They were loading down the first-year students with plenty of homework and papers to do. Ophelia was taking the opportunities with the same determination to be the best that she always did. She was currently sitting at her favorite oak table in the library doing extra research on antidotes to common potions to add into her paper that was due in two weeks. 

“Are you ever not in this library?” A voice sneered at her from behind where she was sitting making her grit her teeth.

Ophelia froze. She recognized the voice of Terrance Higgs from anywhere. “Go away, Higgs. I’m too focussed to deal with your bloody annoyance today.”

“Oh come on, where’s that Hufflepuff friendliness.” Adrian Pucey chuckled and sat at the table directly to the right of her since all of her books were spread on the table that she was currently at, not allowing another person to sit there. “We’ve come because we need something from you.”

She snorted. “Good joke.”

“He’s being serious.” Terrance frowned. “Snape is getting on our case because we are falling behind in Potions and since he is our head of house he is threatening to not let us try out for Quidditch next year if we can’t focus during the first-year without any distractions.”

“I think that’s smart of him. Think about it, you’ll have to add practices and games on top of your schedule next year and if you can’t buckle down and study now without any distractions…” She let the sentence drift off as she shrugged her shoulders. “Besides, what could I possibly help you with.”

Adrian snorted. “Please, you’re the top of our class. Professor Snape doesn’t even treat you differently like you aren’t a Slytherin because you do so well. We need copies of your notes and papers so that we can turn them in.”

“First of all, thank you for the compliment saying I’m top of the class. That’s rare from you lot to be slightly nice. Second of all, no I will not give you copies of my papers. That would be cheating.” Ophelia grumbled and began to pack up her things, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to study in peace anymore today in the library.

Terrance Higgs put his hand down on her books. “Come on. We know that you helped Cedric. He was horrible at Potions when he was working with Jacob Tyler. All of a sudden, when he works with you… passing with flying marks.”

“Cedric is my friend, that's why I wanted to help him. Give me one good reason I should help you two.” She yanked the book from under his grip and put her books away into her bag. 

The two Slytherin boys looked at each other and thought hard for a second, obviously trying to think of ways that they could mend the friendship. “We don’t…”

“Have one? That’s what I thought.” She sniffed and took her stack of books that she was borrowing to write her paper up to the desk to return to Madam Pince. “If you stop messing with me and my friends, then I will think of helping you. But until you two shape up and stop being bullies, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask someone else for help.”

Ophelia ran out of the library and back down to the Hufflepuff common room to finish her studying. When she turned a corner of the corridor sharply while looking backwards to see if Pucey and Higgs were following her, she ran smack into someone. “Miss. Lupin! I expect that you will walk in the corridors and watch where you are going!” The severe voice of Professor McGonagal filled the hallways as she whipped her wand out of her robe pocket and waved it to pick up the spilled papers that fell out of her hand when the first-year ran into her. “5 points from Hufflepuff for your actions.”

Tears filled her eyes. Ophelia had never lost points before. “I’m so sorry, Professor. I was trying to get back to my common room and I… I… I’m just sorry.”

“Is something bothering you, dear?”

“I just haven’t lost points before. I’m afraid of disappointing my house and my father.” She furiously wiped away the tears at her lash line.

Professor McGonnagal looked out of the window in the hallway and a rare smile crossed her face. “I’m sure your father wouldn’t be disappointed to find out you lost a few points. If he does get cross with you over that, tell him that Professor McGonnagal calls him a hypocrite.” 

Before Ophelia could ask the older witch what she was talking about, she whisked away in the direction that she was heading before she was rudely crashed into. The Hufflepuff girl let her mind wander and her feet take her in the direction of her common room. What could the Transfiguration professor have been talking about? Sure, she was the head of Gryffindor so maybe she knew more of her father than other professors. However, her father didn’t seem like the rule breaking type. Any memory of him she could think of was him being cautious and calm. These were not traits that screamed rule breaker.

When she did think of people breaking the rules, she thought of two categories. The first were the bullies. She thought of Adrian Pucey and Terrance Higgs losing points for stealing others items from home or for making fun of someone’s lesser things. The second category of people were secretly her favorite. She thought of the people who played pranks and were joking, adding light to Hogwarts. When she thought of this category of rule breakers, she thought of Tonks and the twins as they would make others in the classroom laugh and bring in light into the days at school.

Ophelia pulled out a piece of parchment paper and a quill when she sank down into one of the yellow arm chairs that was next to a bright window that gave light to the plants that were hanging above the chair. She took a moment to think of how she wanted to word her letter to her father without sounding too nosey. When she built up the courage, she dipped her quill into the ink pot and began to write.

_ Hello Dad! _

_ I hope you are doing well. I had the most embarrassing moment today. I assume you remember Professor McGonnagal, head of Gryffindor house and Transfiguration Professor. Well, as I was leaving the library, I wasn’t really paying attention as I was running back to the Hufflepuff basement and I ran directly into her! I was running so fast that I knocked all of the Transfiguration papers she was holding out of her hand. _

_ I sadly lost 5 points for Hufflepuff because I was being so careless. I almost started crying in front of her! How embarrassing. She was so kind when she asked me if everything was okay. I’m sure that crying is not a normal reaction to losing points this far into the term but I haven’t lost any yet!  _

_ I admitted to her that I was terrified of letting my house down. I also said that I was afraid of disappointing you and the strangest thing happened… she smiled and said that you shouldn’t be upset at me for losing points. I think I could count on one hand the amount of times she has smiled and it was always for mastering a spell in Transfiguration. She even said and I quote, “If he does get cross with you over that, tell him that Professor McGonnagal calls him a hypocrite.” _

_ Do you happen to know what she is referring to? _

_ Anyways, I hope you have a great rest of your week and that the potion from Romania helps with the long nights. I love you, dad and I miss you! _

_ XOXO _

_ -Ophelia _

* * *

On one of the weekends where older students went to Hogsmeade, Ophelia took the opportunity to study in the library. She was skipping down the hallway with the excitement of getting close to finishing her projects and papers before their deadline when two red-head boys jumped into her path.

Ophelia crashed right into them as they laughed loudly. “Will you two get out of my way, I’m trying to go and study.”

“It’s a weekend!” George protested.

“Yea, that should be illegal!” Fred added.

“Well, some of us don’t like to wait until the last minute to finish everything. Besides, all of the older students won’t be in there so it’ll be more quiet than usual.” She tried walking around them but Fred grabbed a hold of her shoulders. “Will you quit it!”

“We have something planned and we need your help with it.” Fred whispered with a wicked gleam in his brown eyes. 

“You know Rodger Davies, right?” George added as the twins pulled her aside, away from the middle of the corridor in case someone came walking by.

She hesitated. Davies was one of the Ravenclaw’s that Cedric was friends with. He wasn’t always the nicest boy, especially to Gryffindor. “Yes… I know him. What about him?”

“Well, he has been bragging non stop about how he is going to pass you up in Charms class--”

“He’s going to what?!” Ophelia screamed in the hallway, forcing both Fred and George to cover her mouth with their hands.

“Be quiet! Are you trying to get us caught before we reveal our master plan?” Fred whispered into her ear as George was pulling out a parchment from his back pocket. 

George swiftly put his wand to the paper and whispered something that Ophelia couldn’t hear. Magically, a map appeared on the folded parchment. “What is--”

Fred shook his head. “We can’t reveal our secrets just yet, Ophelia.”

“If you promise to work with us, we can show you…” George waved the parchment before her eyes, too quick for her to get a closer look.

They knew that her weakness was not knowing things and feeling left out. It was diabolical of them, but then again, they were the Weasley twins. She was torn, she didn’t want to hurt Cedric’s friends but she also wanted to be able to brag to her father about being the best in every class. Not just all but one. Ophelia took a calming breath before looking at both of the twins, “Okay. I’m in.”

“Wicked!” They cheered together before unfolding the map and lowering it so that she could see it more clearly.

It looked like a regular map of Hogwarts until she noticed that there were feet moving across the map. She grabbed the map with her hands and peered her blue eyes closer to the faded parchment. The feet were labeled! Right in the middle of the corridor that they were standing in now was three sets of feet with perfect calligraphy labels saying,  _ Fred Weasley, George Weasley, and Ophelia Lupin _ . “What is this magic?”

“It is the secret to our success.” George smiled.

“Look at this. You can see where all the Professors are and Mrs. Norris.” Fred pointed to where all of the potential places that you could get caught were. “This is how we always seem to slip away in thin air. There are also secret passageways and hiding spots labeled in here.”

“That’s how you two knew where that closet was when you pulled me away after Potions back at the beginning of the year!” She accused them as she continued to look at the map. It even revealed where all the common rooms were and she noticed that Cedric was currently pacing in his dormitory, probably tossing the small, snitch shaped ball up and down that he did when he was deep in thought. 

“Now, time for our plan.” Fred pulled the map from her hands and turned it so it revealed the location of Rodger Davies. 

The Ravenclaw first year was currently walking up to the Owlery. “We are going to steal his Charms book and make all of the text disappear.” George smirked.

“We are also going to steal his Charms work that he has already done so that we can copy it. Hope you don’t mind.” Fred proclaimed as he raised his eyebrows to Ophelia as if to dare her to argue about how it was unjust of them.

She knew it wasn’t very Hufflepuff-like to steal another person's work but she reasoned with herself, as long as she wasn’t the one to copy his work… Did it really matter? It should. She knew deep down that she wasn’t being a good person right now. However, the drive to be the best in the first-year in all of the classes, a clean sweep, was too much right now and it was blinding her of right and wrong. “What do you need from me?”

“Your looks of course!” Fred joked.

Ophelia wrinkled her forehead in confusion. “I’m sorry… what?”

“Davies has a huge crush on you. He told Cedric about it when they were in the boys bathroom a couple weeks ago. We assumed that Cedric would’ve told you about it.” George blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable with stepping on Cedric and Ophelia’s friendship by revealing that he had been keeping a secret from her.

She shook her head. “No… he didn’t…”  _ Take a deep breath, calm down. _ “So, it doesn’t matter I’m sure Cedric didn’t want to reveal Rodger’s secret because he’s his friend too. What do you want me to do?”

“Flutter your eyelashes a bit and maybe invite him to study with you.” Fred shrugged and whispered a few more words to the map.

“When you’re distracting him, we are going to steal his things and replace them with the blank versions so that he won’t even notice.” George added.

“I don’t think I’m comfortable being alone with Rodger Davies. I don’t even know him and if he likes me, I don’t want him getting the wrong idea.” Ophelia bit her bottom lip out of nervousness. 

“Have Cedric with you then! It’ll probably be best if you aren’t alone so then Rodger can’t accuse you of being the one to replace his things.” George decided. “You should go get Cedric now and go to the library. We have been studying Davies moves. Every Saturday he goes to the Owlery and then immediately goes to the library.”

“He studies near the windows that overlook the grounds.” Fred added.

“You boys are going to be the death of me, I swear.” Ophelia grumbled as she turned back to walk towards the Hufflepuff common room.

“You love us!” One of them called after her.

* * *

Cedric begrudgingly joined her in the library. She finally convinced him to join her saying that she was scared that Higgs and Pucey would bother her again and she didn’t want to be alone. She knew Cedric well enough that he wouldn’t let her go somewhere if she was nervous. 

His mood lifted when he saw his other friend, Rodger Davies studying Herbology. “Davies! I didn’t know you would be here.” He smiled and slipped into the seat directly across from the Ravenclaw boy. 

Ophelia was going to sit next to Cedric, but the Hufflepuff boy put his bag on the seat next to him. “Where am I to sit?” She demanded eyeing her friend annoyingly since he was being uncharacteristically rude. 

She almost forgot that Davies had a crush on her when she noticed that Cedric gave Rodger a glare before the Ravenclaw boy remembered the chair next to him. “I’ll move my bag for you, Ophelia!” He smiled up at her as he placed his bag behind him on the floor, it was almost too easy for the twins.

Ophelia sunk down onto the wooden chair and tried not to feel guilty for playing with Davies’ emotions to stay ahead of him in Charms. “What are you working on, Rodger?” She asked, pretending to be interested as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned over his paper.

She heard Rodger gulp before going on about Herbology and his paper of the importance of Dittany in the Wizarding World. Now that the twins pointed it out, it was almost impossible to miss how nervous the Ravenclaw boy was around her. Cedric also was smiling to himself as he eyed his two friends sitting across from him. Ophelia cleared her throat and looked between the two boys, “Would you two help me locate some books for my Charms paper? I think they’re spread out all over the library and Madam Pince is still a little short with me since I accidentally spilled tea on one of the books.”

Cedric jumped up and grabbed the list of books that she wanted. “We can split these in half… I’ll go get the top 3 books and you two can find the bottom 3 books.” The Hufflepuff boy gave the Ravenclaw boy a wink that he assumed Ophelia hadn’t caught as he sauntered off into the library.

Ophelia silently hoped the twins were in the library and ready to pounce since this was their opportunity to do so. Rodger led her away from the table they were working on and helped her find the books. “You’re still working on your Charm’s paper?”

“I haven’t started it yet. I was working on my Potions paper and didn’t want to start this one until I was finished with the last. I don’t like working on multiple things at once, it sometimes causes me to confuse topics when I try to reflect on them in tests.” She admitted as he reached a book that was on a shelf out of her reach. 

“I finished my Charms paper about an hour ago.” He smirked down at her.  _ I bet you did. _ She thought bitterly to herself. 

Ophelia was feeling rather guilty when they all returned to the table and Rodger was being so kind and helpful to her. After a few hours, she was able to get half of her paper done and all of the notes from the books that she needed to complete it. Trying to act natural, but also trying to get away from the boys so that she wasn’t here when Rodger found out that his completed paper was missing, she stretched her arms high above her curls. “I think I’m going to call it a day, I’m so tired.”

“I’ll walk with you.” Cedric offered, obviously not wanting to study any longer. “Catch you later, Rodger.”

* * *

She didn’t think that she could feel anymore guilty than when she did in the library but boy how wrong was she. Ophelia was currently eating breakfast at the Gryffindor table with the Twins, Charlie Weasley, and Nymphadora Tonks when they all turned around to hear wailing at the Ravenclaw table.

Rodger Davies was frantically looking through his bag. “It was just here!” He was yelling to Cedric and a second-year Ravenclaw that Ophelia didn’t recognize. “I was all done with my Charms paper and now it’s just… gone!”

Ophelia’s stomach dropped and her scrambled eggs she just ate threatened to return. Fred and George were obviously not feeling the same way and they were snickering from besides her. “Congratulations, Lupin.” Fred whispered.

“You’re a prankster, now!” George added quietly so that Tonks and Charlie wouldn’t hear as they were currently talking about how they remember feeling stressed out in their first-year about losing things. 

Despite her guilty feeling, she did have to admit… pranking was fun.

The adrenaline rush that she felt from getting away with something and working with the twins was something that she couldn’t ignore was something she enjoyed. What was even better than the adrenaline rush was the floating feeling she got from being complimented by the Weasley twins.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Cheat**

Time seemed pass at an obnoxious pace at Hogwarts. Ophelia was currently in her last month of her first-year and she felt like she had just gotten sorted into Hufflepuff. Tensions were quite high now that they were entering into exam season and the older students seemed like they were going to snap into half from the pressure of exams like N.E.W.T’s and O.W.L.’s. Ophelia was quite glad that she had a while before she even had to begin to worry about those classes and exams. 

She was currently walking to Potions class with Cedric and the twins as they were all animatedly talking about how nervous they were for the upcoming Potions exam that would happen in a couple weeks. The boys were begging Ophelia to make some sort of study guide for the lot to study from. She was playing hard ball because they didn’t know that she was already half way done with some sort of study guide that she was going to gift the boys. “What would I get in return if I was so kind to take time out of my day and give you lot a study guide?”

All three boys began to think long and hard about ways that they could make it worth while for Ophelia to help them out so they could pass Potions. Each suggestion, Ophelia pretended to ponder over and told them she would let them know. Fred and George promised that they would prank someone of her choice to dye their hair the color of their house. Cedric promised that he would take her on vacation with his family over the summer to France. She laughed at how nice the boys were being in their own ways and told them that she would have the study guide done by the end of the day or at the latest tomorrow evening. 

“We will not be pairing up today. I want you all to get out a piece of parchment paper and a quill. Clear your desk off of all other belongings.” Professor Snape declared as he whisked into the room with his black robe billowing out from behind him. “I will be testing your current knowledge on the potion we have been working on recently, Sleeping Draught. I will set a timer and you have until the sand falls to the bottom of the turner to complete your paper and turn it in. Once you are done, you may leave.”

With that, the professor turned a silver timer over so that the white, sand granulates began to race to the bottom. Olivia picked up her quill and began to furiously write down everything that she could think of from her work both inside and outside of the classroom on the Sleeping Draught. She felt very confident about her work, that is until it disappeared. 

“Cheating will not be tolerated in this classroom, Mr. Weasley and Miss. Lupin!” Professor Snape looked at them with fury behind his black eyes. “Your papers will be graded as is. You may leave, now.”

“Professor Snape. It is my fault. Ophelia didn’t even know I was looking at her paper!” Fred argued as Ophelia began to cry from the possibility of failing a paper. She knew that she was more than halfway done with her thoughts but it wasn’t good enough for a grade that would keep her at the top of the class and this act surely would put her on Snape’s bad side.

“May this be a reminder that your actions have consequences to more people than just yourself, Mr. Weasley. Now I will not repeat myself. On with you. Oh and 10 points from Gryffindor and 5 points from Hufflepuff.”

Ophelia felt like she was walking in a nightmare as she collected her things as tears streamed down her flushed cheeks. Fred held the heavy dungeon door open for her but she didn’t thank him for the gesture. It was his fault after all that she was put into this situation. Once they were outside of the classroom, Fred began to apologize profusely to the Hufflepuff girl. “Ophelia… I’m so terribly sorry. I shouldn’t have looked at your paper. I thought Snape wasn’t going to notice and I was completely lost.” 

“Yes and now Patricia Stimpson is going to pass me in Potions thanks to you. She won’t know that this happened since Ravenclaw has potions tomorrow but I was just barely ahead of her in this class.” She snapped and tried to hurry her footsteps up so that she wouldn’t have to talk to Fred.

Since he was almost half a foot taller than her, he was able to catch up with her new pace with ease. “I’m so sorry, Ophelia. I’ll talk to Snape after class and make things better.”

“How would you talking to Snape fix anything? If anything it will just anger him more.”

“Well at least I’m trying to come up with a solution instead of just moping!” He snapped.

“I shouldn’t have to be thinking of solutions. I should be finishing up my perfect paper and getting a perfect grade to keep my top spot in Potions amongst the first years. Do not turn this on me, Frederick.” She yelled, not caring if they were drawing attention in the corridor as she tried to race to the Hufflepuff common room near the kitchens. 

“Oh so now we are using our full names? Come on, Ophelia. You know that doesn’t bother me. I’m sorry! Why can’t you just accept my apology?” He complained.

“Because I’m angry, Fred! I’m allowed to be furious that you just ruined my rapport with Professor Snape and ruined my chance of being top in Potions. This would be like if I purposely messed up a prank for you. Now, please just leave me alone.” She walked into the kitchens and waited for him to leave her alone so that she could go to the barrel and tap it to reveal the crawl space to get into the Hufflepuff common room.

Fred wasn’t walking away. He crossed his arms across his chest and glared down at her. “You’re so difficult sometimes.”

“I’m difficult?” She scoffed. “You’re the one who is constantly breaking rules and not thinking of your actions.”

“At least I know how to have fun! You’re so obsessed with being the best that I swear you should be a Slytherin.” He sneered the last word as if her being in the Slytherin house would be the worst thing in the world.

“So what.” Ophelia snapped back. “I think that no matter what house I was in I would be like this. My dad is a smart wizard and I want to make him proud. He always went on about how knowledge is power and that he spent all his time studying at Hogwarts. I’m not going to apologize for trying to make him proud and become the best version of myself. Now will you please leave so that I can go into my common room.”

Fred frowned and went to open his mouth to say something before a couple of seventh and sixth year Hufflepuffs walked into the kitchens demanding he leave so they could enter the common room and study. Ophelia raced into the crawl space as soon as Fred turned on his heels and raced out of the kitchen. She tried to race to the girls dorm before anyone could notice she was crying. 

Tonks ruined this plan.

She caught sight of the first-year Hufflepuff and jumped up from her spot on a black couch to go up to Ophelia and give her a hug. “What’s wrong, little one?”

“I hate the Weasley’s.”

“All of them? Or just one in particular?” Tonks chuckled.

“Fred.”

“What happened? I thought you two were close?”

Ophelia pulled away from the older girl and wiped a tear away from her blue eyes. “He just got me kicked out of Potions today and made me lose house points. We were working on a paper which I’m sure is going to be worth a large chunk of our grade since we are approaching the end of term and he got caught cheating off my paper! Snape took both of them away even thought I had no idea that Fred was copying my work.”

“That sounds like Snape. Come on, let’s go cheer you up. I’ll go get my favorite Weasley.” Tonks grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her away from the castle. 

Before Ophelia could complain and ask what Tonks was doing, they were approaching the Quidditch pitch. Sure enough, she saw two Gryffindor boys racing around on a couple of broomsticks. The red-head Weasley was throwing a quaffle towards the hoops to try to get it passed the brunette boy who was acting as keeper. “Oi! Weasley! Come down here. You need to fix your brother’s mess!” Tonks roared up to the sky.

Both boys came swooping down. “What’s wrong?” Charlie asked, his cheeks slightly flushed and his hair whipped in various ways because of the wind from flying. “Which brother caused a problem that I need to fix?”

Tonks filled in the older boy on what Fred did and Charlie frowned. “I’m very sorry about that Ophelia. Tonks did take you to the right place. I’m sure your furious with my brother.”

Ophelia nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. “I don’t know how Quidditch is going to help.”

“Quidditch helps with everything.” The boy who was playing Keeper said very seriously. “Oliver Wood by the way. I don’t think we have had a chance to meet.”

“Ophelia Lupin.” 

Charlie grabbed an extra broomstick and tossed it towards Ophelia. “Your mum was a beater. Let’s see how you fair by hitting some bludgers.”

Ophelia put her leg over the broomstick and kicked hard off of the grass. She soared into the air and was met by Oliver and Charlie. Wood handed her a bat and Charlie smiled at her, “I’m going to have Tonks release the bludger and I want you to try and smack it as hard as you can. After you tire yourself out with that, you can work on throwing a quaffle and try to get it passed Oliver with me until you forget about my stupid brother.”

Ophelia was very thankful for the older students at this moment. After she hit the bludger until her arm stung and the sound of the ball going flying was ringing in her ear, they put the bludger away and she held the 1uaffle in her hand. “Don’t worry if you can’t get it passed me, Lupin. I’ve been told I’m a great Keeper.” Wood said in a joking and kind manner despite the humble brag that was in the phrase.

The first-year Hufflepuff aimed for the far right hoop and threw the quaffle with as much force as she could manage. Oliver easily stopped the ball but let out a little huff when he caught the quaffle in his chest. “You’ve got quite an arm, Lupin! You should try out for Hufflepuff next year. Maybe they would stand a chance.”

She threw the quaffle, taking turns with Charlie, for what felt like an hour. Once they were all tired out and sweaty, they put away the broomsticks and balls and walked towards the castle together. Ophelia thanked Tonks for her idea and admitted that it helped her get her mind off of things. When they walked into the Great Hall, Ophelia sat with the three older students and ignored the pleading looks that Fred was giving her. 

After dinner, Ophelia left the older students and began her walk to the library. She was going to have to study extra hard now so that she could take her spot back at the top of the class. While she was walking though the stone corridors, she was so lost in thought about the upcoming exams that she didn’t even see the two Slytherin boys until they had abruptly stood in front of her. 

Ophelia sighed. “What do you two want. I’m too tired to deal with any nonsense right now.”

Pucey and Higgs smiled at each other. “I think we have some good news for you.” Adrian teased her. “But if you don’t want to hear it, by all means go back to sulking.”

“What on earth would you know of that I would consider good news?” She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned her weight to her right leg as she narrowed her eyes and gave them accusing looks.

“We just talked to Professor Snape and he agreed to let you rewrite your paper that was taken away today.” Higgs snickered.

“What’s the catch?” Ophelia asked, not taking the bait and getting her hopes up.

Adrian smiled down at the girl and raised one of his eyebrows. “Well, we mentioned that you were going to give us study guides and help us study for the upcoming exam but now that you are too stressed out about getting your place back at the top of the class, you wouldn’t have time to help us study.”

“He seemed more than pleased that you were helping some Slytherins out that he said he would let you come in and finish the paper tonight.” Higgs added.

Ophelia shook her head not wanting to believe them. “If this is a joke, it’s rather cruel.”

“No joke.” Adrian said, raising his chin. “We heard that you were making study guides for the twins, I’m assuming you aren’t going to give them that now. Or at least you shouldn’t after what they did to you.”

“Well… I hadn’t thought that far yet.” Ophelia admitted. “It feels wrong to punish George for Fred’s actions.”

“You’re stupid if you think that George wouldn’t give Fred the study guide, too.” Terrance HIggs sneered at her which made Ophelia grit her teeth.

She sighed. “What time is Snape expecting me?”

“Any moment I assume.” Pucey said as he looked at his silver wrist watch. “We will escort you to the dungeons to prove that you are willing to work with us.” The smile that crossed his face was not a friendly one, but instead a manipulating one.

Ophelia was trapped. She had to help these bullies otherwise her grade would sink and the Ravenclaw girl would pace her up in Potions. “Fine.” She sighed in defeat. 

As the odd trio walked to the dungeons, Ophelia tried to ignore the stares from other students. They had almost made it to the corridor that the Potions classroom was in when they were stopped by two angry looking Gryffindors. “What are you doing with her?” Demanded Fred as he looked between Higgs and Pucey who were standing on either side of Ophelia. 

“We are helping her.” Pucey sneered at the twins. “You know, fixing your mistakes.”

Fred looked at the floor guilty while George looked confused. “Why would you help, Ophelia. You hate anyone who isn’t a Slytherin.”

Higgs shook his head. “That’s not true. We just hate Gryffindors. We don’t mind some Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs.”

“Especially the smart ones that can help us pass Potions.” Adrian added smugly.

“You’re helping them?” George whispered to Ophelia with a look of pure disappointment in his brown eyes. “Why would you do something like that? They’re horrible to you and to us.”

Ophelia closed her eyes out of frustration and pinched the top of her nose to try and get the headache that was fast approaching to go away. “I’m just trying to keep my grade. I wouldn’t have to be in this situation if someone didn’t cheat off of my paper today! Don’t turn this on me.” The tears were threatening to spill out from her lash line when she opened her eyes and saw anger and disappointment on the twins’ faces. 

Fred was about to open his mouth and say something else when a cold voice filled the corridor. “I’m not sure what you Gryffindors’ are doing roaming this corridor but I suggest you get back to your common room.” Professor Snape drawled from the end of the way. “Now, for you three, I think you should be hurrying since I don’t have all night for Miss. Lupin to finish her work.”

Ophelia kept her head down and didn’t dare catch the twins eyes. Today was the strangest day of her life and she was now walking into the Potions classroom with two Slytherin boys who she was going to be forced to help pass their class. She shook her head, hoping that she would wake up from this nightmare. Sadly, she didn’t wake up and knew that this was a harsh reality she was stuck in.

She pushed all of her problems to the back of her mind and got to work, finishing her paper for Professor Snape. When she finished and got up to hand it in, Professor Snape looked at it. “Thank you, Miss. Lupin. I also think it’s wise of you to accept help from those who have the same ambition as you to climb to the top.”

His phrasing made her think back to her first day at Hogwarts at the Sorting Hat _.  _ What was it that the hat said to her? She thought back and remembered the strange voice that filled her head telling her about a family she didn’t know.  _ I see family members you do not know about with great powers that they learned in their house of Slytherin where the ambitious and cunning learn their ways… perhaps you would do well in the Slytherin house?  _

Was this what the hat was seeing? Her being power hungry and climbing to the top, not caring if she hurt her friends on the way? She bit her lip and just simply nodded her head and thanked the Professor for letting her finish her work. Ophelia informed Snape that she would be giving the members of his house her study guide by tomorrow which made Snape raise his eyebrows before dismissing her. 

That night, after finishing the three study guides for Cedric, Adrian, and Terrance, Ophelia stared at the parchment papers that were drying on a coffee table in the Hufflepuff common room. She bit the inside of her cheek in thought until it bled before she sighed and got out two more pieces of parchment paper from her bag. She wrote the names Fred and George on the top of the papers in her messy handwriting. She copied down the study guide word for word. Ophelia frowned and decided to add to the bottom of Fred’s,  _ Here you git. Now you don’t have to cheat. -O _


	6. Chapter Six: End of Term

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The red-head family all waved goodbye as the Lupin’s slipped through the magical barrier to begin their journey home. Ophelia caught herself talking animatedly about how cool everything was at Hogwarts. She was most excited to tell him about her grades and she had been keeping it from her letters back home to reveal the surprise that she had been top of all of her classes this year. He was so proud of her that he had them stop to get some ice cream as a reward for her hard-work this year. 

**Chapter Six: End of Term**

Ophelia glumly sat at the end of the year feast. The Great Hall was usually one her favorite places in Hogwarts. However, today it was decorated in Slytherin green and silver from all of the banners in the hall. The Slytherin table was also unbearable. They were all smiling and congratulating one another for winning the House Cup.

Tonks sighed from next to Ophelia. “Five years in a row, they’ve won. They’re getting quite a big head on their shoulders.”

“It’s unfair.” Cedric decided with a frown. “They cheat. It just doesn’t seem right.”

“That is what makes us Hufflepuff folk different from them.” Tonks cheered and raised her glass, “We do what’s right not for the glory.”

Ophelia gulped down her pumpkin juice and tried not to think of how she used her connections to rise her way back to the top of Potions and how the twins helped her stay in top in Charms class. She certainly wasn’t sounding very Hufflepuff right now. She was fighting tooth and nail to stay at the top of the first-years for the glory and bragging rights to say she was the best to her father. 

Professor Dumbledore interrupted her thoughts by standing up at the podium. “Welcome, welcome! I hope you all have had a magical year at Hogwarts. To our first-years, how brilliant to say you have learned an entire year of magic. For our seventh-years, we will be so sad to see you all go but us professors are ecstatic to see what you go out and do to change the Wizarding world! As you all are aware, it is the night to celebrate the House Championship! Let us recognize everyone who earned points throughout the year! In Fourth Place with 304 points, Gryffindor!” The table with red trimmed robes clapped glumly. “In Third Place, with 329 points, Ravenclaw!” The table with students in blue ties clapped warrily. “In Second Place, with 348 points, Hufflepuff!” Despite not winning, Ophelia’s table erupted into cheers and claps to celebrate that they did so well this year, apparently the last two years they had come in last place. “Now, the moment everyone has been waiting for. Congratulations to Slytherin for coming in First Place for the 1989-1990 school year with 401 points!”

All of the Slytherins began to cheer victoriously and sneer at the Gryffindor table. Professor Snape was looking rather smugly at the head table and held up the House Cup for his table to erupt into louder and more boisterous cheers. 

Professor Dumbledore turned everyone's attention back up to the podium once the cheering died down at the Slytherin table. “Now, the moment we all really have been waiting for. The feast!” With that, the house elves produced the mouth watering food at all of the tables for the students and staff to dig into and enjoy the last day of term together. 

* * *

Ophelia could not believe that she was back on the Hogwarts Express to go back to live with her dad. She hasn’t seen him since he dropped her off for the beginning of her school year and she was so excited to tell him all about her accomplishments from her first-year. “Ophelia… hello!! Earth to Ophelia! Do you think Hufflepuffs are prone to deafness?” 

Ophelia smacked the hand that was waving in front of her eyes. Fred chuckled and put his hand back on the back of the train chair. “You were so spaced out. We were asking when you plan on visiting the Burrow this summer? It’s only fair that if you get to parade around France with Diggory for a week that you get to visit us too!”

“I talked to my dad and he was in contact with your parents already. I’m planning on staying at the end of month.”  _ During the full moon _ , she added in her own head. “Your mother invited both my dad and I over for some Sunday dinners but I’m not sure if my dad will take her up on that offer just yet.”

“Wicked! That would be great if we could see you for more than a week! Ginny misses you loads too.” George smiled at his friend before popping a sugar quill into his mouth. 

“When you visit we are going to have a mini quidditch match! It’ll be Charlie, You, and Ginny versus Me, George, and Ron. So your team is going down, no ifs ands or buts!” Fred joked before Charlie ruffled his hair.

Charlie laughed “No way is your team beating us. Sorry but Ginny and Ophelia are both naturals. I bet Ron ends up crying by the end of the match.” 

The train compartment burst into arguments over who were the better quidditch players and then people began to bet on the match. It lasted for the entire duration of the train ride until they appeared at King’s Cross. By the end of the ride, it was decided that the losing team would have to the de-gnoming for the entire summer. 

Getting off the train, Ophelia couldn’t help but rake her eyes across the large crowd. She was desperate to see her father. When she saw his shaggy set of robes talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. She couldn’t help but to run towards him and throw her arms around his shoulders. “I’ve missed you!” She cried.

“I’ve missed you too, kiddo! You have to tell me all about your year. I am so happy for you.” Her father smiled kindly at her and took her trunk from her hand. “It looks like you decorated your trunk, I see.” He smiled at all of the stickers that her friends gave her over the year. She had a large Hufflepuff sticker, a quaffle sticker, and two beater sticks clapping together magically over and over on the front of her trunk. 

“My goal is to have my entire trunk covered with stickers by the time I graduate.” She admitted with blushing cheeks.

“I think that’s a fantastic idea and it will show off your amazing personality.” Her father smiled. “If you’ll excuse us, Weasley’s, we better be off!”

The red-head family all waved goodbye as the Lupin’s slipped through the magical barrier to begin their journey home. Ophelia caught herself talking animatedly about how cool everything was at Hogwarts. She was most excited to tell him about her grades and she had been keeping it from her letters back home to reveal the surprise that she had been top of all of her classes this year. He was so proud of her that he had them stop to get some ice cream as a reward for her hard-work this year. 

* * *

_ Ophelia, _

_ I think it is so unfair that you couldn’t just sneak me into your suitcase and take me to France. I’m only 9, I would’ve fit! I’m small enough. _

_ The boys are being so annoying with you not being here. The twins will not shut up about how cool you… like I know Ophelia is cool! She’s my friend too! _

_ Please write back soon. Better yet, please visit soon! I miss you! _

_ XOXO _

_ Your favorite Weasley girl, _

_ Ginny _

_ Ophelia, _

_ I came up with an idea to prank the entire Slytherin house. Please let me know if you are interested because George and I will definitely need a look out when we pull of this master prank. It might be some years in the making because the magic is pretty complex, I read about it in one of Percy’s textbooks that he was leaving lying around. Anyways, let me know if you think it sounds like something you would want to do! _

_ Also, let me know when you will be visiting! I owe you something for cheating off of your Potions paper. I still feel really bad about that and I can’t thank you enough for making me a study guide even though you really didn’t have to and I would’ve deserved to fail Potions. _

_ I can’t wait for you to visit the Burrow! You should try and convince your dad to come over for a Sunday. We all miss you! _

_ Your favorite twin, _

_ Freddie _

_ Ophelia, _

_ Oi! When are you coming to the Burrow? Mum won’t shut up about how she is so thankful that you got Fred and I to pace our classes this year and I think she wants to thank you a million times with food and knit work, her Weasley way of course. _

_ I also heard from my dad that your dad was wicked brilliant in the war. Do you think he would be willing to tell any war stories? If not that’s cool too, we just want to see you! _

_ Hope your summer is going well. _

_ Your actual favorite twin, _

_ George _

_ Dear Ophelia, _

_ I cannot believe that we got to visit France with my family! I already miss hanging out with you. It’s not the same with my mum and dad. My mum also thinks you’re way too smart to be my friend and wants to send you some additional reading that she thinks you would like from our library. It’s attached to this owl, it’s about the origins of Hufflepuff. She probably assumed I wouldn’t do additional reading (and she would be right).  _

_ I miss you and can’t wait for the term to start! We have to try out for the quidditch team together. There’s an opening Chaser position and Seeker position with yours and my name written all over them. We are going to prove that we are great quidditch players, I just know it!  _

_ Please let me know when you’re going to Diagon Alley so our families can meet up to get our school supplies for this year! It would be great for our parents to get to know each other more so maybe your dad will let you visit more. _

_ Anyways, I won’t write much more because I’m sure you’re falling behind in your made up list of books to read this Summer. Miss you! _

_ Please write soon! _

_ Ced _

“You seem to be quite popular.” Her father joked as Cedric’s owl swooped in, adding to the pile of letters that she received over the Summer holiday. 

The Lupin’s were currently building together a magical puzzle, which was a rather challenging task since the picture moved and you couldn’t try and match up colors since they could change if the subject moved across the scattered pieces. “I just have some really good friends. Did your friends send you letters when you were in Hogwarts?”

Her father smiled sadly. “Yes. I had some amazing friends growing up. Sadly, they lost their lives during the Wizarding War. I’m very thankful to be here to see you grow up. A fate a lot of my friends didn’t have with their children.”

Ophelia considered losing all of her friends and shuddered at the thought. “Did your friends at Hogwarts play quidditch?”

He nodded his head and smiled. “They were great. I’m sure you’re going to great on the Hufflepuff quidditch team. I heard Cedric talking to you about that in the Floo the other day.”

“He thinks I’ll make the team but I’m only a second year… I don’t want to get my hopes up. I don’t like feeling disappointed.” 

“Your mother made the team her second year.” He calmly stated as he put two puzzle pieces together. “She was a beater for the Gryffindor team and played from her second year to her seventh year.”

“I didn’t know that.” Ophelia pretended. She left out that Charlie Weasley told her all about her mother and her greatness which is what led Ophelia to feel so nervous about trying out for the Hufflepuff team. If anyone knew who her mother was, they would most likely expect her to fill her quidditch robes of greatness. 

“You’ll do great, sweetie. I’m going to put a kettle on for some tea, would you like some?”

“Chamomile, please!” 

* * *

“She’s here! She’s here!” Ginny shouted over and over again as Ophelia fell through the Floo Network into the Weasley’s house. “I’m so excited you’re here! I’ve missed you so much! Bill won’t be here so you can stay in his room or you can stay in mine.”

“I’ll stay with you. I don’t mind. I kind of miss sleeping with someone else in the room. It’s weird after being at Hogwarts to have a room all to myself.” She laughed at the memory of being too scared of anything that bumped in the night from the memory of Grace’s snores or Rose’s shuffling in her own four-poster bed to fall asleep.

“OPHELIA!” The twins shouted and jumped down the last set of stairs to leap on top of her, tackling her onto the ground as they gave her bear hugs on the ground. “We’ve missed you!”

“I can’t breathe!” She laughed as they helped her back up from her spot on the ground. “I’ve missed you guys too! My father I think was about to lose his mind with how many letters you boys were sending me. He didn’t really like that most of my letters were coming from boys.”

“Well such a beautiful young lady, I would think so.” Mrs. Weasley joked and shooed her boys away to give Ophelia a big hug. “I’m so happy to have you here. I’m sad that your father and you couldn’t join us for some Sunday dinners but no matter, we will be sure to spoil you while you’re here.”

“No need, Mrs. Weasley. I’m just happy to be here.”

“Nonsense. Now, Fred and George told me that Roast and Potatoes was your favorite meal at Hogwarts. Is that right? Or are they just playing a joke on their poor mother.” She smiled kindly at the girl. 

“No… they’re telling the truth.” Ophelia laughed and looked at the twins who giving their mother looks of disappointment as if they had never given their mother a reason to not believe them. 

“Well good… that’s what we are having for dinner tonight! In honor of our special guest.” Mrs. Weasley bustled off into the kitchen. 

The twins grabbed Ophelia’s bag that she got recently when Cedric’s family and her own went to Diagon Alley together. It was black with a yellow Hufflepuff logo on the front with her name stitched underneath. Her father had put a neat charm on it to expand the inside so that she could fill it with more contents than would’ve been physically possible before. “Be careful with that!” She fretted. “It’s new.”

“Oh yes… yes… how could we forget your Diagon Alley date with Cedric Diggory.” Fred made kissy faces into the air.

“Oh shove off. You know Ced and I are just friends.” Ophelia rolled her eyes and pushed past the boys to get next to Ginny who was now getting knit blankets from her closet to put on top of the cot that was waiting for her expectantly in the middle of the young girls room. 

George laughed. “You two do spend an awful alot of time together.”

“I spend a lot of time with you guys too… that doesn’t mean that I want to snog you guys.” Ophelia narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest trying to look menacing.

The act failed when Ginny began making gagging sounds. “Please don’t talk about snogging my brothers, even if it’s jokingly. That picture is just disturbing and I’m afraid I might have nightmares about it.” 

“If you had to pick a Weasley to snog… which would it be?” George teased as he tossed her bag onto the cot.

Ophelia pretended to be thinking for a while. “Hmm… that’s a hard one. I think I’d have to go with Erol. I just got a thing for hopeless things.” 

Ginny doubled over laughing at the look of disappointment on the twins face as she said their family Owl’s name instead of a real answer. They were sure to be digging around for her to say their names, it was clear on their face. Ophelia was smarter than that and wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. 

The next day at the Burrow was chaotic. All of the Weasley children who were staying at the Burrow were outside ready for the Quidditch match. Even Percy was outside, he deemed himself the referee and was going to keep score as well for everyone. “You’re going down, Lupin.” George teased her from across the air. 

The teams were set up with 2 chasers and 1 keeper. The first team to 100 points was going to be deemed the winner. Charlie was performing as the keeper on their team and Ron was doing the same for his team. Ginny and Ophelia were eyeing down the twins right now as everyone hovered in the air waiting for Percy to signal that the game was beginning by tossing a quaffle high into the air. 

Once he did, Ginny dived for it and caught it swiftly. She was racing down the makeshift quidditch field when Fred slammed into her broom causing her to drop the ball. George dived for it and started racing towards Charlie. Ophelia intercepted the ball when George tried tossing it back to Fred. Once she had the ball she was flying swiftly towards Ron and pretended to aim for the left hoop. When Ron was beginning to favor the hoop she was eyeing, she swiftly turned to the far right hoop and tossed the quaffle into the hoop. “10 points for Gryffin-Puff!” Percy cheered from the ground.

This continued for the duration of the game. All of the Weasley’s turned out to be incredibly competitive and pretty athletic quidditch players. At the end of the day, Charlie’s team, Gryffin-Puff won by only 10 points. “This is not fair! I don’t want to de-gnome all summer!” Ron complained as they all landed on the ground. 

“We won, Ron-Ron. It’s time to get over that.” Charlie teased as he ruffled Ron’s wind swept hair. “I know Gin and I are thankful to be on the winning team.”

Charlie gave the two girls high-fives and ran into the Burrow for the dinner that was moments from being complete. When they walked into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley smiled at everyone. “Who won?” She asked with kind eyes and genuine curiosity in her voice.

“My team with the girls of course!” Charlie smiled at his mom.

Ophelia got up from her spot next to Fred and Ginny and walked over to all of the serving platters. “Would you like some help, Mrs. Weasley?”

“Oh dear, that would be wonderful!” She handed the Hufflepuff girl a big platter of mashed potatoes and followed her to the table with the other items. “You boys picked a nice friend, who helps out. You better treat her right and keep her around.” The teasing from the matriarch of the Weasley family caused Ophelia and the twins to blush profusely. 

The time at the Weasley’s went as easy-going as always. Between Wizards Chess with Ron, Exploding Snap with Ginny, planning and implementing pranks with the twins, and getting quidditch lessons from Charlie, she was exhausted when her week was done at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley gave her a big hug and sent her into the Floo with leftovers for her father and herself. 

Ophelia gave everyone big hugs and promised that she would see them soon since they would be boarding the Hogwarts Express soon. She told Ginny and Ron that she would miss them and hopefully see them over the Holiday’s which Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already insisted that she spend it with them. 

When she made it back to her house through the Floo her father was excited to see food for them and insisted that she tell him all about her time at the Burrow. While she was explaining her tales, he handed her another two letters from her peers at Hogwarts. The one was from Cedric which she expected but she froze in her spot when she saw the second was from Adrian Pucey. “What the bloody hell.” She whispered under her breath when her father went into the other room to reheat the food that Mrs. Weasley had gifted them. 

_ Ophelia, _

_ I expect you to be shocked by this invitation as my mother insists that I extend the invitation to the Pucey household for the back to school dinner that they are hosting for some of my friends. They found out how Terrance I passed Potions and they are beyond thankful for your efforts. _

_ Please respond by this weekend if you plan to attend. _

_ See you soon, either at Hogwarts or the dinner. _

_ -A.P.  _

“Forget that.” Ophelia said out loud as she threw the letter into the fireplace. 

“Who was that from, O?” Her father asked as he placed two plates of food in front of them on the kitchen table. “A friend from school?”

“It was no one.” She said as she sank her fork into her food trying to forget the strange invitation from the Slytherin boy. Of course, Pucey would find a way to ruin her solitude even away from Hogwarts. Ophelia shook her head and tried to restart the conversation with her dad about what she was most looking forward to this year at Hogwarts. 


	7. Chapter Seven: Second Year

**Chapter Seven: Second Year**

“We are big second years now.” Fred declared into their train compartment which consisted of his twin, Ophelia, Cedric Diggory, Angelina Johnson, and Lee Jordan. “This is a time for celebration!”

“Oh sit down, Fred.” Angelina laughed as she yanked his wrist so that Fred plopped next to her in the train compartment seat. “We are literally just in our second year. If anyone older catches you talking like this they will be sure to be annoyed.”

George chimed in from his seat next to Fred. “I think that annoying people is somewhat a specialty of Fred and I’s. What do you think, Freddie?”

“I would say you are right.” His twin agreed while popping in a chocolate frog into his mouth. “Each year we will simply step up our antics. Watch out for this year, it will be even better than the last.” 

Cedric rolled his eyes and leaned into whisper into Ophelia’s ear. “Do not get caught up in their antics. Hufflepuff has to win the House Cup this year.”

Ophelia giggled and rolled her eyes at Cedric’s concern. When she looked up, she thought she imagined it but Fred was glaring at the two before Angelina pulled his attention back to their conversation. That wouldn’t make sense. Why would Fred care that Cedric and her were joking around? Ophelia had to get some sleep, she was making scenarios up in her head. 

The group of second-years were interrupted by Adrian Pucey, Terrance Higgs, and Graham Montague opening the door to their compartment. “Isn’t this cute.” Higgs drawled. 

“What do you want.” Fred jumped up in front of them with his arm crossed. Both George and Lee mimicked his actions so that the Slytherins were evenly matched by a Gryffindor boy. “This compartment is full. Move along, Slytherin.” 

“Oh we weren’t coming to join you. No… I was just stopping by to tell Ophelia that we missed having her at my family’s back to school dinner.” Adrian sneered at Fred and looked past his shoulder to Ophelia. “Maybe you will join us for dinner sometime over break.”

Ophelia froze in her seat. “Umm… I… I…”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Lupin speechless before.” Montague taunted.

“Perhaps we should go, let her think about it.” Pucey laughed as the boys backed out from the compartment to go sit where all the other Slytherins were.

“Ophelia… what the fuck was that about?” Fred demanded in a quiet voice as their compartment door closed.

The entire compartment was staring at her in shock. Of course, Pucey would drive a wedge in her friendships before they even stepped foot onto the castle grounds. She cleared her throat. “His mother wanted to invite me because I helped him pass Potions. I didn’t go and I burned the letter in the fire that invited me there. I didn’t think it would be a big deal so I haven’t brought it up.”

“What are you guys friends?” George asked with a shocked look on his face.

“No. That’s why I didn’t go.” Ophelia became red in the face. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to change into my Hufflepuff robes. I’m done with this conversation. I don’t want to talk about it.” 

* * *

Ophelia was rather quiet after the Sorting Hat sang it’s song this year about the four different houses. She knew she had to explain why Adrian invited her to dinner and for some reason she felt like she needed to apologize. For some reason, she felt guilty even though Fred was the reason that she had to help the Slytherin in the first place. 

Even Cedric was having a hard time talking to her. The two were going through the motions through the sorting hat ceremony, cheering loudly when Hufflepuff got new members and politely clamping when other houses got members. Tonks leaned in during the feast portion of the ceremony and asked, “Why is Cedric giving you the cold shoulder?”

“Pucey invited me to his house for some stupid dinner because I had to help him with Potions because of the stunt Fred pulled last year. I didn’t go but he came to our train compartment with a few of his goons and they taunted me about it. Now I think they’re all mad at me.” She whispered back to the girl, hoping that Cedric couldn’t hear her. 

“You will work it out. I know it.” Tonks smiled kindly and gave her a wink before the Hufflepuff girls went back to eating their bread pudding. 

As the Prefects began to lead the first years to the common rooms, Cedric darted in front of them to not get caught behind the horde of eleven year olds. “Ced! Ced! Hey wait up!” Ophelia called out and she raced up to catch up with him. “Cedric please talk to me.”

“I just don’t understand I suppose. You judge me for being friends with Rodger Davies because he’s mean to Gryffindor but then you go and become friends with Slytherin?” Cedric wrinkled his bronze colored eyebrows. “I guess I just don’t understand.”

“I’m not friends with Slytherin! You know what happened at the end of the year last year. They used me getting my paper taken away to get me to help them pass Potions. It won’t happen this year and I am certainly not friends with them. Pucey did that just to get under all of our skin and clearly it’s working. Let’s not let them win.” She pleaded with him as they crawled through the crawl space behind the barrel to get into the Hufflepuff dorms. 

Once they were in the earthy, Hufflepuff common room, Cedric took a deep breath. He glanced around the room and Ophelia wanted to demand he say something to her. She was desperate without his constant friendship and loyalty beside her. He took a moment to rub his fingers along a copper pot that was holding lavender when he sighed, “I love this place.”

It was the first words he had uttered to her since they got off of the Hogwarts Express. She smiled up at him and responded breathlessly, “Me too.”

“Game of Exploding Snap under the dancing cacti?” He gestured his head towards their favorite set of yellow armchairs under the curved wooden shelves that held the brightly colored cacti that would dance around and wave at you.

Just like that, things between her and Cedric were back together. They played Exploding Snap until they had both won 3 hands each. By the time they were tied up, it was rather late. “We should be off to bed. Don’t want to be too tired before the first day.” Ophelia yawned and stood up from the chair. 

“Night, Lupin.” Cedric smiled and rubbed his hand playful on the top of her head. 

* * *

Second year was sure to be even better than first because she had plenty of classes with Gryffindor. Last year, they only had Potions with the house of the lions and she was sad that she didn’t get to see her favorite twins more often. This year, Hufflepuff had Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration with Gryffindor. They had Potions and Astronomy with Slytherin and Care for Magical Creatures with Ravenclaw. 

When Professor Sprout handed her and Cedric their schedule at the Hufflepuff table they both knew they were going to expect a year full of jokes and pranks during their lessons from the infamous Weasley twins. “Well… well… well…” Fred appeared from behind them holding his own schedule in his hands.

“Looks like our eyes don’t deceive us!” George added.

“Hufflepuff and Gryffindor are scheduled a lot together this year.” Cedric noted with a smile. “Hope you boys don’t mind I will be sitting next to Ophelia during Transfiguration. Her notes are a lifesaver.”

The twins rolled their brown eyes at Cedric already claiming where they would be sitting. “She can sit next to her Slytherin boyfriend during Potions.” Fred sneered as his eyes flickered over to the table with the green-trimed robes where they were all examining their own schedules for the new term.

“Freddie, he’s not my boyfriend. You know that.” Ophelia grumbled and finished the last swig of pumpkin juice that was in her glass. “I wouldn’t have even gotten an invitation to that stupid dinner if I wasn’t forced to help them because someone just had to cheat on my Potions paper.”

Fred blushed slightly across his freckled cheeks and nose. “Gee, I wonder who that could be.” He raised his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry. I think I just got so mad because they really are the worst.”

Ophelia laughed and nodded in agreement. “Now will you please drop the whole dinner thing. If you want to do anything, how about you let out some steam and prank the Slytherins.”

The twins looked at each other with matching smirks. “Well, we actually were already planning on doing that.” George admitted with a guilty laugh.

“You boys are so predictable. Now, come on you lot. We better be off to DADA. I want to get some good desks near the front of the class.” Ophelia collected all of her items and the group was walking towards the classroom.

“You two can sit near the front.” Fred laughed.

“Yea, that’s a horrible location for planning pranks.” George sighed and shook his head. “We thought we had trained you better than that, O.”

“Guess you can’t blame me for wanting to keep my top marks in my classes, aye? Besides… you boys seem to like the nice notes and information I obtain from sitting at the front of the classrooms.” 

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, the group used their break to go outside and sit in the sunny courtyard. Ophelia laid out in the grass and used her robe as some type of blanket so that her skirt and white collared shirt wouldn’t get dirty on the grass. Fred and George were currently climbing and messing around in the tree that Lee and Angelina were sitting under in the shade as they egged the other two Gryffindor boys to climb higher and do more crazy antics. Cedric was sitting next to Ophelia with his Potions book opened up. “I hope this year I’m more able at making Potions. I don’t want to be such dead weight.”

“Oh, stop it right now. I don’t want this negative self-talk, okay? It’s bad for your psyche.” Ophelia said as she crossed her ankles and stretched her arms out, feeling the soothing sun against her skin.

“Well, well, well. Isn’t this a sight for sore eyes.” 

Ophelia shot up immediately and stared daggers at the taunt that was coming from the group of Slytherin students who were marching towards the group. Adrian Pucey, Terrange Higgs, Graham Montague, and Marcus Flint were all laughing. “What do you want?” Cedric demanded as he got up from his sitting position and stood in front of Ophelia who was now being helped up from Angelina.

Lee, Fred, and George all stood next to Cedric as they stood in front of the two girls. Angelina whipped out her wand despite being behind the others. Ophelia decided it was smart to follow suit and got out her own wand as she put her robe back on. “We just came over here to talk to Lupin.” Higgs said with slightly raised eyebrows. “Is there something against the rules about house unity?”

Cedric shifted his weight uncomfortably. “No there’s not. However, you all don’t seem to have the best record of being kind to others.”

“What a Hufflepuff.” Marcus Flint sneered on the last word as if it was something to be ashamed of. “Being kind doesn’t matter.”

“We thought we could offer to walk Lupin to Potions.” Pucey said as he wiggled his dark eyebrows at the boys. Apparently, something in Fred’s face caused him to spark interest. “Something wrong with that, Weasley?”

“Yea. Stay the hell away from her. She doesn’t want anything to do with you assholes.” Fred’s wand hand was now shaking rapidly as he tapped his wand against his thigh at a million miles per hour, clearly wanting to send various hexes and jinxes towards the Slytherin boys.

Adrian Pucey opened his mouth to say more but they were interrupted by the large game keeper, Rubeus Hagrid walking towards the large group of students. “Not causing any trouble here are ye?”

The Slytherin’s turned their lips up into sneers at the half-giant. “Of course not.” Higgs spit out. “We were just leaving.”

As the group of boys in green ties turned on their heels and headed back towards the castle, the half-giant turned to the Hufflepuffs and Gryfindors. “I hope you aren’t all causing trouble. I know I shouldn’t get involved but I can’t stand to see Slytherin win another House Cup. Now off you go to your classes.”

The Gryffindor’s wished the two Hufflepuff’s luck in their next class and Angelina whispered a jinx in her ear that would turn the target’s skin into boils. The Hufflepuff girl informed her that she would have to remember that one and wished to use it on one of the annoying Slytherins. 

She fell silent with anxiety as Cedric and her walked down to the dungeons. Ophelia tried to focus on the sound of her shoes hitting the stone floor and her breathing. She was timing it out so that with every three steps she would breath in and out. This helped a little and by the time that they made it to the Potions classroom, she had her game face on. 

This year, the cauldrons were set up in the middle of tables that sat four students. Grace Thorne, her roommate and Jacob Tyler, Cedric's roommate, were already waiting for them. Grace waved her olive hand in the air and moved her bag off of the seat from across her. “Thanks for saving us seats.” Cedric said as the two slipped into the table that was near the front of the room by the old board that would certainly have the outline of the lesson magically appear once Snape decided it was time to start class. 

As soon as Professor Snape flicked his wand, the door slammed shut and the chalk began to furiously write his outline for the lesson up on the board. Ophelia began to furiously copy down the notes so that she could fill in details from his lecture. “Clearly, you have all been deemed competent enough to move on to your second year of Potions. I will not be slowly going into topics this year like I did last year. You are all responsible enough and capable to follow along at a quicker pace this year.” Professor Snape drawled in his cold tone and she heard Cedric groan slightly from his stool next to her. “Now, I want to begin this class with a small lecture on the various uses of salamander blood since that will be in the first two potions we are producing this term. After the lecture, your group will make a batch of any potion that we covered last year to show that you remember and didn’t lose important information over your holiday.”

Ophelia’s hand was about to break off as she kept up with Snape’s lecture and she was almost thankful it was time to work on the potion. Her group asked her what Potion they should all make since she was certain she would be doing the majority of the work. “Let’s make Sleeping Draught.” 

Grace nodded her head and scanned the ingredients list from Ophelia’s notes. “I’ll go grab everything that we need.” She flicked her black braid over her shoulder and went up to the front of the classroom.

“I’ll go grab the viles.” Jacob offered helpfully and gave them a warm smile as he jumped down from his stool.

Once all the Hufflepuff’s were back at the table, they began to work diligently. Grace and Tyler were furiously taking notes on how Ophelia was producing the potion since they hadn’t worked with her last year. Cedric, who despite having doubts of his skills, clearly had improved from last year and was helping Ophelia with only a few questions.

By the end of the lesson, they were bottling up their potion and Cedric was labeling them carefully with their four names on the vile. “I think we work well as a team.” Grace smiled brightly. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt more confident about turning in something for Professor Snape before.”

“That’s only because you lot have Lupin.” Pucey sneered from the table next to them. “It’s basically like you guys are cheating.”

Her eyes scanned over their work. They were making the anti-boil potion but it was not the right color at all. She knit her eyebrows together trying to think how they messed up their potion. “Let’s go.” Cedric grabbed his books after he turned in the vile and the Hufflepuff’s began to pack up their things to go.

Before they turned to leave, Ophelia couldn’t help it. She turned around and felt the know-it-all attitude creep up in her mouth. “I think you guys used fresh beetles instead of dried ones. Snape likes to trick people by keeping them up at the front. If you restart now, I’m sure you can finish it in time with the correct ingredients. Otherwise, your anti-boil potion will cause boils to grow at an alarming rate.” She felt a blush grow on her cheeks as the Hufflepuffs stared at her with shock that she was helping the other house.

The Slytherin boys began to groan as they realized that they had to begin their potion all over again. “Excellent observation, Miss. Lupin. However, that should have been for them to discover. Nonetheless, 1 point for Hufflepuff for your house unity.” Professor Snape drawled as he waved his wand and their incorrect Potion disappeared from the center of the table. “Thank you for helping them. Now off with you all.”


	8. Chapter Eight: Treaty

**Chapter Eight: Treaty**

“You’re joking.” Fred said in a deadpan voice, completely forgetting the fork full of buttered green beans that he was about to eat. “You helped _slytherin_. Has a bludger hit your head?”

Ophelia gave him a pointed look, trying to get him to drop the subject. Of course, with the Weasley’s there was no point in getting them to listen to your wishes. George also had a perplexed look on his freckled face. “Why on earth would you do that, Ophelia?”

“I don’t see why it’s that big of a deal.” She stabbed a roasted potato on her silver fork and focussed on chewing so she wouldn’t choke from the guilt that was building up in her throat. When she finally was able to get it down, she looked pointedly from the twins, Lee, Cedric, Grace, and Jacob. “I was just being nice. What is wrong with that. It was the right thing to do. I could tell what was wrong and it would be unjust to let them fuck up just because I didn’t want to say something to them.”

Grace bit her bottom lip and looked like she was deep in thought. “You’re right.” She finally said in her high-pitched voice which made all the boys whip their heads to the girl. “What? Hufflepuffs are being told by Professor Sprout all the time that we should always be giving a helping hand to others who are in need. No matter what. They didn’t do anything to us during Potions. I’m sure Ophelia would’ve felt guilty about it if she didn’t speak up.”

“You girls are nuts.” Lee said as he went back to eating. “Scrath that, Hufflepuffs are nuts.”

“I wouldn’t have said anything.” Jacob grumbled and shook his head. “Just you two are nuts.” He gestured his blonde head to the two girls.

Cedric wasn’t picking a side and stayed quiet while he was eating. Ophelia was trying not to let this hurt her feelings. She wanted to change the subject but didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Grace seemed to spot her with her dark eyes and gave her a bright smile. “Ophelia. Can I braid your hair for your Quidditch tryouts? I’m sure you’ll be able to perform better without your curls in your face.”

“Hufflepuff quidditch tryouts are coming up?” Fred asked curiously. 

Gryffindor tryouts were on Saturday the same as Hufflepuffs. Ophelia hadn’t realized that she didn’t bring it up yet because whenever Quidditch was brought up into conversation, George and Fred would go into long rants about how they were going to be the next Gryffindor beaters no matter what. “Yea, we get the pitch right after Gryffindor. I was planning on watching you and George try out.”

George wiggled his eyebrows. “Will I be getting a kiss for good luck?” He puckered his lips and closed his chocolate brown eyes.

Ophelia giggled and shoved a frosted cookie into his puckered lips, leaving them bright pink like he had just put on some tacky lipstick. “How about that?” She giggled with Grace.

“Oooo… strawberry frosting.” George licked his lips and bit the cookie from Ophelia’s hand before she dropped it onto his plate. “Well… regardless of a goodluck kiss or not, I’m sure it will help you to see what the competition is like for Gryffindor. Perhaps Fred and I will stay after too.”

“Which positions are open on the Gryffindor team that you lot are going for?” Jacob Tyler asked the twins as he poured caramel sauce on top of a pile of bread pudding. “Hufflepuff has one chase position and the seeker position open.”

“Gryffindor is going through a change in their team. We have four positions open. 2 chasers and 2 beater positions.” Fred said through a mouthful of sweets.

“Fred and I are going after the beater positions.” George added. “Angelina is going after a chaser position. I’m not sure if they will let that many second years on the team, but we can hope. As long as we are the best I know that Charlie will be fair. He told us that he isn’t going to allow someone to say that he let us on the team because we are his brother so we would really have to show up for the competition.”

After dinner, the students walked back to their respective common rooms. Ophelia and Grace were sitting in the Hufflepuff girls’ dormitory with their legs underneath their bodies on Grace’s bed. The other girl was giving Ophelia two long french braids down her back. “See? This will keep your hair out of your face and it’ll open up your face too so your pretty eyes will be exposed.”

“I’m rubbish at all this girl stuff. Growing up with only my dad and me. I never learned how to do all of this.” Ophelia blushed slightly at the thought of the time that her father had tried to comb her thick curls with a fine tooth comb and it snapped in half. After that, he gave up on trying to do her hair and it was always either just down and wild or tied back into a ponytail.

“Let me teach you!” Grace’s eyes filled with excitement. “I’m the middle child of three girls so I never got to teach someone else! Willow always did the teaching. We can start with hair and then go into everything else like boys, makeup, handstands…”

“Handstands?” Ophelia asked with a giggle. “Please… I don’t think there’s that much that I’m missing out on.” Her friend's face fell slightly before she added. “But I would appreciate the knowledge. I’m sure it will be useful. I can’t always have you braiding my hair for me.”

The next day, the Hufflepuff girls went down for breakfast with matching double french braids going down their back. Ophelia’s weren’t as neat as Grace’s but they were a start after they had worked all night on the proper techniques of adding hair to the bunches and putting them over and under until they went down your back. “New look?” Cedric asked as he eyed the back of her head. “I wish my hair could do that.”

“Grow your hair out, Ced. I’ll give you some braids.” Grace laughed as they walked into the stone corridor from the kitchens. “Just get your hair to the bottom of your ears at least and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Wicked!” 

The Hufflepuff students rushed through breakfast so they could make it to Transfiguration on time. Professor McGonagall was a stickler for rules and they wanted to make a good impression. It was also important to do well in this class because they would have it with Gryffindor which was her house. Although, out of all of the heads of houses, McGonagall was the least likely to favor her house, the need to impress a teacher still rang true in Ophelia’s heart. 

They sat their items down at one of the desks that were organized in neat rows so that all of the students could have a clear view of the front of the classroom where the notes and demonstrations would take place. Ophelia was in the middle of getting out all of her items to mentally prepare for the upcoming lesson when someone plopped up on top of her desk. “Morning, Lupin. Have you done something differently?” Fred Weasley was peering down at her as he bit into a muffin that he must’ve taken out of the Great Hall this morning.

“Yea… your hair.” George added as he leaned against the desk from the other side of Ophelia.

“I’m teaching her how to braid her hair!” Grace chimed in as she patted Ophelia’s braids affectionately. “Didn’t she do a great job! Do you two know how to braid? Ophelia told me you have a sister.”

“Er-- no.” Fred blushed. “It can’t be that hard.”

“Yea. I bet we could braid hair.” George’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration that Ophelia recognized came from the twins' attitudes about needing to be able to do just about anything that was non-academic related. 

The two girls looked at each other and laughed at how something as simple as braiding could ruffle the feathers of the twins. They were interrupted by Profesor McGonagall walking in and welcoming all of the students back to Hogwarts. Shortly after the greetings, they were thrown into a quick quiz on the review of the Transfiguration spells that they learned during their first year at Hogwarts. She addressed that this would help her guide what they would need to do quick reviews over before they moved onto more challenging spells. 

At the end of the class, she assigned everyone with a paper on the importance of wand movement during Transfiguration spells. The group walked out of the classroom, in desperate need to move around since they were seated for a few hours in the class. They went back outside to their spot near their tree. Angelina and Grace were taking turns trying to jump up and smack Lee and Jacob’s feet as they were swinging in the tree branches above their heads. George was laughing at the antics from a few branches higher, trying to reach the top of the tree without ripping a hole in his dress shirt. 

Ophelia was stretching her arms above her head from her spot on the ground with Fred laying down next to her, his weight against his elbows which he was propping up on. “Let me try to braid your hair.” He demanded abruptly.

“What?” She laughed and looked down at him, shocked to see the fierce determination on his face.

“Well… Grace assumed since I have a sister I should know how to braid hair. I don’t think GInny would let me touch her hair with a ten-foot pole, she would assume I was trying to prank it but I think I should know. It can’t be that hard.”

“You’re serious?”

He nodded his head. 

“Alright, Weasley. Give it your best shot.” Ophelia took the yellow ribbons that were holding the bottom of the braids out of her hair and shook it out. She moved so she was sitting directly in front of Fred. “Watch me do the right one and you can try working on the left one. Okay? Alright, you have to take three even sections of hair at the very top of my head near where the hairline is. Then you cross the left section over the middle section, like this. Then you cross the right section over. Now, you have to grab some sections of hair from the rest of my head and add it to the bundles. Like this.”

They continued doing this for several minutes, Fred was getting very aggravated when each time, the hair would get tangled or he wouldn’t take enough hair or too much hair when he added more to the bundles. “This is bloody hard! It shouldn’t be this hard.”

“It took me some time, don’t worry about it. Grace just taught me last night.” Ophelia admitted as she took back the side of hair that he was working on and quickly braided it back to how it was this morning for her next class. “You’ll get it.”

“How long did it take you to learn how to braid?”

“I dunno, maybe a couple of hours.” She admitted.

“I bet you one sickle that I’ll learn how to braid in half that time. What are we at so far? 15 minutes?” The competitive nature in Fred rose to the surface as he was looking at her hair, as if trying to strategize how he would out braid her. 

“You’re ridiculous, Fred.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Sorry to take your practice hair away, Hufflepuff’s have Care for Magical Creatures soon with Ravenclaw.”

The group of Hufflepuff students said their goodbyes to their friends as they walked to their next class. Cedric went to go sit with Rodger Davies which Grace took the opportunity to sit next to Ophelia and gave her a look that made her dark eyes sparkle as she slightly bounced up and down in her seat with excitement. “What is wrong with you?” Ophelia asked with her eyes quirked in confusion.

“Fred and you, huh?”

“Oh stop it. He just wanted to learn how to braid hair, that’s all.”

“Yea… because boys want to learn how to braid hair just to learn how to braid hair. It had nothing to do with the fact that he got to spend the entire break playing with your hair as you leaned against him?” Grace winked her eyes as the two girls began to burst into nervous giggles which earned them looks from their other friends who were sitting at another table. “Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret. The boys don’t need to know.”

During their longer break from Care for Magical Creatures and Astronomy, which wouldn’t be until later tonight, Ophelia went to her favorite oak table in the library to get started on all of her homework. She was in the middle of a paragraph about the dangers of incorrect wrist movements while spell casting when the chair in front of her got pulled back abruptly. Her eyes shot up and saw Adrian Pucey glancing around the library in a very uncharacteristically shy way. “Mind if I sit here?”

“Well you already pulled the chair out, didn’t you?”

“Yea… I suppose I did.” He admitted as he blushed slightly as he sank down into the chair. “Would you mind explaining something to me?”

“Explaining what?”

“I’m completely lost in Potions.” He admitted with his eyes closed tightly, as if he was too embarrassed to look her in the eyes. “Snape is riding my case and saying if I don’t have better grades this year he won’t even let me try out for Quidditch and my dad is riding my case about being on the Quidditch team otherwise I’ll disappoint the Pucey name. You’re quite honestly the only person I know who would understand the material well enough to explain it to someone else.” He opened his eyes and looked into hers with a pleading expression on his face. 

Ophelia bounced her foot at a rapid pace under the table. Part of her, felt torn for Adrian. He looked like he was going to snap in half from the stress that was being put on him by other people. However, the other hand remembered how he was a bully and horrible to her friends. “How about a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“A treaty you might say. I’ll help you with academic works in the library once a week and you won’t bother my friends and I.”

“Make it two days a week and I won’t bother you.” He narrowed his eyes. 

“Two days a week and you don’t bring this up to your friends or my friends. We act like it’s not happening. You also don’t bother me or the Hufflepuffs.” She knew that the hold up on her original proposal to the treaty deal they were deciding upon was the fact that Slytherin and Gryffindor’s hate for each ran generations deep and there was no way that he would be able to stop from making fun of Lee or the twins. 

Adrian looked down at the oak table, scratching at the wood grain before meeting her eyes again. “Deal.”

And that is how her very odd tutoring sessions began twice a week in the corner of the library that no one went to with Adrian Pucey. Second year was already off to a very strange start. 


	9. Chapter Nine: Marlene McKinnon

**Chapter Nine: Marlene McKinnon**

Ophelia was staring down at the Hogwarts broomstick in her hand as she fought off the urge to throw up onto the Quidditch pitch. Hufflepuff just got the use of the pitch after Gryffindor, which she saw both the twins and Angelina Johnson make the team. They were up in the stands now, cheering on their Hufflepuff friends. Seeker tryouts were being held before Chaser tryouts so she was currently watching Cedric and a 4th year girl compete for the coveted spot on the Hufflepuff quidditch team. Her bronze haired friend was going after dives and racing past the other girl, clearly going above and beyond to prove his spot was worthy on the team. 

After Cedric was awarded the spot on the team, the two Hufflepuffs shook hands and Cedric motioned that he was going up into the stands to watch the Chaser tryouts. There were 5 people here for the one spot on the team. All of the other students were older, except for Jacob Tyler her other friend her age. They were given instructions to do some drills to try and keep the quaffle through the guarded hoops at the end of the quidditch pitch. 

They did this drill until it was down to the final two options for the team. It was Beatrice Hayward, a girl in her fifth year and Ophelia. They would have a race to see who could get the most quaffles out of 5 throws into the center of the pitch to mimic the beginning of a quidditch match. 

Ophelia zoomed towards the quaffle and caught the first throw, earning her cheers from her friends in the stands who were in the stands, still clutching their brooms from tryouts. Beatrice rolled her eyes and darted towards the quaffle that was in the Hufflepuff captains hands. It was tossed up in the air and Beatrice knocked into Ophelia to get to the quaffle, which almost sent Ophelia off of her broom and made her breathing heavy with the impact on her chest. “Quidditch is a tough game, little Lupin.” She winked. “Gotta be quicker than that.”

Furry shot through her veins and Ophelia gripped her broomstick tightly. Her blue eyes darted between Beatric and the captain, waiting for the moment that the quaffle was tossed. When it left the captain’s fingers, Ophelia shot like a bullet towards the ball and snatched it with her hands. “Yes, Ophelia!” She heard the twins cheering for her as Cedric whistled. 

“Godric I forgot how annoying second years were.” Beatrice muttered.

The next throw, the ball seemed like it was tossed almost directly to the older girl and Ophelia noticed that the captain looked slightly guilty while the fifth year girl caught the ball with ease. Now it was all down to the last catch. Ophelia gulped the nerves down her throat as her breakfast threatened to resurface. 

She was so nervous, that she missed that the captain had thrown the quaffle until Beatrice was already a meter in front of her. Ophelia cursed under her breath as she tried to catch up with the older girl. Disappointment filled her body as she saw the other girl with the quaffle tucked under her arm. 

“Great work, you two! Beatrice you will be starting and Ophelia if you would like, we would love to have you on the reserve team in case a chaser gets injured.” 

The second-year Hufflepuff nodded and tried to ignore the tears that were threatening to spill out on her lash line. She flew down to the quidditch pitch and put away her broom before storming towards the castle.

“Ophelia! Ophelia! Wait up!” Her friends were calling from behind her as she felt the grass crumple beneath her sneakers.

The tears were pouring down her cheeks now from the disappointment of not living up to her mother’s quidditch talents as she pushed the heavy doors open that led her into the main corridor. She began to run through the halls, completely unphased about breaking the rules which she usually carefully followed to not lose any house points. Right now, she just wanted to be alone and she could still hear her friends' calls and footsteps as they tried to catch up with her. 

She had just rounded a corner and stopped before running into Professor McGonagall. “Miss. Lupin. I thought we knew better now than to run through the hallways--” the stern looking woman stopped as she saw the tears streaming down the young girl's face. “Would you like some tea?”

The girl turned to see her friends were rounding the corner now, almost catching up with her. She couldn’t cry, not in front of them. Not now when they should be celebrating joining the respective quidditch teams. She turned her attention back to the professor and nodded her head. “Alone, please.”

The Professor looked over the Hufflepuff’s shoulders to see the group of second-years that were fast approaching and nodded in understanding. “Of course, dear. Follow me.”

They went to Professor McGonagall’s office and Ophelia was overwhelmed with the amount of pictures of past students that the older witch kept. They lined her walls on shelves and it was fascinating to see the time frames of when the photographs were taken. Some were in black and white, color, some muggle photos that were frozen, and some were the magical photos that were on a constant loop. “Please have a seat, Miss. Lupin.”

With a wave of her wand, a plate of steaming chamomile tea and a plate of biscuits and pastries appeared before them. “Thank you.” Ophelia managed to get out as her tears were beginning to fade away.

“I take it, quidditch tryouts did not go as you hoped.”

Ophelia rubbed her finger tip against the rim of the tea cup and nodded. “I was hoping to be like my mum and make the quidditch team my second year. I’m afraid that I won’t live up to her skills. It’s the only thing I know about her, my father doesn’t talk about her much.”

“Well… that’s a shame. I knew Marlene McKinnon very well. She was a Gryffindor when I was head of house back in the 70s when your parents went to Hogwarts. She was good friends with Lily Potter and your father of course. The three were constantly together when your father wasn’t with… well his other friends. She was incredibly smart and good with her words. Whenever I see you quip a quick response in class, I think fondly of her.” Professor McGonagall got up from behind her desk and went to look through the shelves of photos. 

When she found a couple that pleased her, she picked them up into her hands and brought them over to Ophelia. “This is the Gryffindor team during your mother’s first year on the team. Both her and James Potter made it on the team that year. They’re right here.” She pointed a finger towards a boy with messy black hair with his arm slung around his broomstick next to a girl with dirty blonde that was put into a braid that snaked over her shoulder. The two were smiling and James said something in the picture, that made her mother throw her head back and laugh before the image looped again. 

“This picture was taken before one of their last days of their seventh year. This is your mother, Lily Potter, James Potter, your father, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew.” She pointed her finger at the figures in the image. The group of Gryffindor students waved to the camera. Marlene and Lily had their arms linked as they had watery eyes during their smile, clearly emotional about something. 

“I want you to have this last picture.” Professor McGonagall said with a small smile on her face. She turned the smallest frame around to show an individual picture of Marlene McKinnon flying on a broomstick before smacking a bludger with a beater and then smiling at her teammate before it looped again. “This was from her 5th year.”

Ophelia clutched the photo with trembling fingers and hugged it to her chest. “Thank you, Professor. I appreciate this so much. Are you sure you won’t regret letting it go?”

“My only regret is that I haven’t given it to you sooner.” She smiled kindly down at the girl. “Now, I think you should put that in a safe place and go assure your friends that you are okay now. They seemed rather worried when I saw them.” 

Ophelia nodded her head in agreement and thanked the Professor again for taking the time to check on the Hufflepuff girl. She walked to the common room, staring at her mothers smiling face the entire time. As soon as she stepped foot into the earthy common room, her Hufflepuff friends were in front of her demanding if she was okay.

She smiled at them ensuring she was okay and instead wanting to show them what her newest prized possession was instead of talking about the tryouts. “I am now. Look… it’s my mom. It’s Marlene McKinnon.”


	10. Chapter Ten: Slytherin versus Hufflepuff

**Chapter Ten: Slytherin versus Hufflepuff**

“Didn’t make the quidditch team? Well that’s rubbish. You’re a natural.” Adrian Pucey sneered over his Potions textbook.

She opened her mouth but was rendered speechless at the rare compliment from the Slytherin boy. “Well… I was against a 5th year and I made the reserve team. So I suppose if someone get’s injured I will get a chance to play but I hope it doesn’t come to that. There’s always next year.”

“How noble of you. If I were you, I would be plotting on a way to get one of the chaser’s injured.”

“That’s barbaric.”

“That’s the Slytherin way.” He shrugged as if it would be the most normal thing in a world for someone from his house to attempt to harm him to get ahead. 

“Well I sure am glad I’m in Hufflepuff then. I don’t think I would last in an environment like that.” She shuddered and went back down to working on getting tricky charm spell to work. “How far are you in your homework, can I see?”

He handed her his work with his messy scrawl. She tapped the third paragraph and pursed her lips, thinking. “You need to add more in this paragraph, it’s very vague. Go back to page 102 and it’ll give you more information to add.”

“Thanks.” He murmured as he took his paper back and flipped to the page she recommended he look at. “I’m assuming you aren’t looking forward to the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff game this weekend, then.”

“No… I am. I’m excited to see how Cedric does. He’s been looking forward to being Seeker for a while and he’s a fantastic flyer.” 

“Darn… so there’s no hope that you’ll be wearing green to the match?” Adrian laughed at his joke as he finished his paragraph with the added information like Ophelia recommended. “Shame. I think it would be your color.”

“In your dream, Pucey. Anyways, our time is up. I have to go and help Cedric with his Charms homework.” As she cleared off her area of their work table she paused. “Goodluck, Adrian. Err-- with the match.” 

He smiled up at her. “Are you actually wishing the enemy goodluck? Godric you Hufflepuff’s are strange.”

“Well… try not to play too dirty. It wouldn’t be fair.” She promptly turned on her heels and dashed out of the library, handing back her books that she was borrowing for her additional Charms work information.

Once she was out into the stone corridor, she felt like she could breathe again. The most confusing part of these study sessions is that Adrian was actually keeping his word. She was hoping that he would break his end of the deal and she could promptly stop helping him. However, he was nothing but silent around her friends and he was actually nice to her in the odd Slytherin way of the word. 

When she made it back to the common room, Grace and Cedric were currently attempting to make the engorgement charm work on a shrunken needle that Flitwick had given the second-year students to practice on. “This is pointless.” Cedric grumbled as he tossed his wand on the end table in between to the two yellow armchairs that her friends were lounging on. 

Ophelia sat on her knees in front of the table with the small needle and got her wand out of her robe pocket. “Your wand movement is wrong and you’re stressing the EN instead of the GOR in the spell. It’s en-GOR-gio not EN-gorgio. Watch.” She took her wanted out and with the twirl of her wrist and the “enGORgio” slip from her lips, the icy blue light appeared from the tip of her wand and caused the needle to grow into the size of a pencil. “See? Not too hard. Now you try.” With another flick of her wrist, she cast the counter-charm to shrink the needle back down to size. 

The three students took turns casting the spell until finally Grace and Cedric managed to make the needle grow in size. “You’re so brilliant!” Cedric exclaimed with glee once he was able to cast the charm correctly. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head which caused Ophelia to blush brightly. “I better be off, I have to go and inform the rest of the team that I got all my work done so I can focus on tomorrow’s match.” 

Grace looked at her with wide eyes as Cedric left. She began to giggle wildly. “What was that about?”

“Oh you know Cedric… he’s just friendly.”

“He doesn’t thank me like that.” Grace huffed. “I would certainly return the favor.”

Ophelia threw her head back and laughed before throwing a yellow pillow at her friends face who was now making mock kissing faces. “Oh shove off. Besides, from what I hear you’re doing just fine.”

Her friend began to blush. “I don’t know what on Earth you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t I catch Rodger Davies pacing you a note asking if you fancied him?” Ophelia wiggled her eyebrows as Grace threw the pillow back at her, smacking her in the middle of her face. 

“I’ll murder you, Ophelia Lupin. I swear to Helga Hufflpuff that I’ll do it right in the middle of this common room.” Grace’s normal olive toned face was now flushed and her mouth was gaping open and she glanced around furiously looking to see if anyone had overheard the girls conversation.

“Oh knock it off. You know I won’t tell anyone. I’m just furious you didn’t tell me, you git.”

“Pinky promises that we’ll tell each other from now on who we like and who we think are complete assholes.” Grace prompted as she held out her hand with her pinky in the air.

Ophelia laughed at the muggle tradition but linked her pinky around the other girls. They decided to turn in for the night, excited about waking up in the morning to get ready for the game. Since Ophelia was only on the reserve team, she would be watching the game from the stands. The two girls wanted to surprise Cedric so they were currently working on painting two signs that said “Go Diggory Go!” and a cheekier one that Grace made that said, “We Love Seeker Diggory #7”. Once they were done painting them, Ophelia put a neat charm on that made the letters flash and change from black to yellow and then back again. 

* * *

It was a slightly cold autumn morning, perfect for flying. Ophelia was currently decked out in the jumper that Mrs. Weasley had knit her last Christmas and her binoculars hung around her neck so that she could get a closer watch on the match as it was in action. The teams were currently in the air, warming up before the match. “Make way, make way! Gryffindors coming through!” Fred and George Weasley were shouting as they made their way up to where their Hufflepuff friends were. 

“Hello, ladies.” Fred smiled down at the girls.

“Nice jumper.” George added to Ophelia. “Mum will be happy you’re wearing it.”

“Where’s Lee?” Ophelia asked the boys as she noticed they weren’t accompanied by their other best friend.

“Got the gig of being a commentator for the Quidditch matches!” They cheered in unison, clearly very happy for their friend. 

Grace giggled. “I’m sure he will make this match interesting.”

Sure enough, once the match began, the girls were holding up their signs in the air which Ophelia noticed Cedric smile wildly at them. “Welcome everyone to another exciting day of quidditch! Today it is Hufflepuff versus Slytherin! And the quaffle is taken immediately by Hufflepuff Heidi Macavoy who passes it to Beatrice Hayward who is new to the Hufflepuff team this year who makes to the Slytherin hoops as she tosses it and, blocked by Miles Bletchly.”

The fans decorated in green and silver all began to cheer wildly while the Hufflepuff fans booed. “Damn.” Fred cursed under his breath. “You’d have sunk it.” He nudged Ophelia’s shoulder.

Lee’s commentation began again as Miles threw the quaffle back into play. “Bletchly throws the Quaffle to Marcus Flint who is flying down the pitch, tosses the quaffle to Montague, who tosses the ball to Pucey who throws the quaffle and ten points to Slytherin! Hufflepuff Keeper Herbert Fleet throws the quaffle back into play to Beatrice Hayward who throws the quaffle to Heidi Macavoy who tosses the quaffle to Maclm Preece who aims and-- YES-- ten points to Hufflepuff!!”

The Hufflepuff fans began to cheer wildly as the score tied up to 10-10. “I hope Cedric finds the snitch soon.” Ophelia worried. 

The match continued very neck and neck until the score was 30-30 and the Slytherin’s started to play dirty. “Hufflepuff in possession-- Hayward with the Quaffle-- passes Slytherin Pucey-- attempts to pass Slytherin Flint and oh-- what a disgusting bit of cheating as Flint grabs Haywards broomstick!”

Professor McGonagall could be heard yelling at Lee. “Jordan!”

“Sorry… that cheating that could have been anyone I suppose causes Hufflepuff to lose possession of the quaffle and Pucey scores on Hufflepuff making the score 40-30 for Slytherin! Hufflepuff Keeper throws the ball to Heidi Macavoy who passes Slytherin Chaser Flint and then OW she is hit in the face with a bludger by Slytherin’s Lucian Bole! What a disgusting bit of play, I hope she is okay.”

Ophelia’s heart raced at the possibility of being pulled into the game that was immediately squashed as Heidi held up a thumbs up to the medi-witch who was ready to help any player if needed. “Slytherin scores another 10 points during all that action causing the score to be 50-30, Slytherin! Wait a minute-- Hufflepuff Seeker Diggory is diving fast towards the ground, with sight of the snitch!”

All of the other players seemed to forget what they were doing as Terrance Higgs tried to catch up with Cedric as they both dove to the ground. Cedric however, caught the snitch first and swooped back up with the golden snitch in his stretched arm for the crowd to see. Lee’s voice filled the air “Diggory has caught the snitch! Ending the game with a score of 180-50 with a Hufflepuff win!”

The Hufflepuff fans stormed the pitch and all went to hold Cedric Diggory up in the air. As everyone was cheering and celebrating, he seemed to be on cloud nine, almost shocked that he had won the game for his team. Heidi and Herbert kissed, they were so excited despite Heidi’s bleeding nose from getting hit by the bludger. “Enjoy it while it last, Diggory.” Fred joked as the second-year seeker made his way over to his friends.

“Because next week Gryffindor is going to destroy you lot!” George added while giving Cedric a playful shove to show that they were merely messing around with the Hufflepuff boy. 


	11. Chapter Eleven: Christmas with the Diggory’s

**Chapter Eleven: Christmas with the Diggory’s**

Christmas was fast approaching and Ophelia was trying to figure out where she was going for the Holiday’s. Sadly, her father was going to be out of the country again so he wouldn’t be able to take her in. The Weasley’s weren’t an option because they were visiting Bill in Egypt. Grace wanted to take her in but her family decided they were visiting France. Cedric got excited about the idea, “You should stay with me! We will have loads of fun! My dad makes the best hot chocolate and we could raise sleds and go ice skating in the pond that’s in my backyard.”

“Ooooo Diggory has a pond. How fitting.” Fred grumbled. He had been looking forward to Ophelia staying with his family over the Holiday’s and was disappointed when his mother told him that they wouldn’t be able to expect Bill to take another person in. 

“I’d invite you guys down but you’ll be in Egypt.” Cedric looked guilty.

“Wait, you guys live near each other?” Ophelia demanded, wondering why neither of them had admitted this yet. “Why haven’t we all played quidditch together yet?”  
“I live with my parents in Devon by Ottery St. Catchpole. My dad is friends with Mr. Weasley. Whenever we go to events we will take a Portkey together since we live kind of near each other.” 

“Brilliant!” Ophelia smiled. “Well, I’ll write to my father right away and see if I can get permission to go with your family for Winter Hols.” She jumped up from her seat and dashed off to the Owlery.

Time seemed to pass by in slow motion as she was awaiting to spend Christmas with the Diggory’s. Cedric filled every second of theirs to talk about his parents, who he looked up to highly. His father was a Ministry worker and his mother worked as a Photographer for the Daily Prophet. Ophelia was most excited about meeting his mother who was a half-blood, like Ophelia. 

Upon receiving permission to stay with the Diggory family, Cedric and her stayed up until 1 am in the common room in front of a roaring fire by the portrait of Helga Hufflepuff to make their schedule for their activities. Cedric declared that it was a crime deserving a night in Azkaban that she didn’t know how to ice skate since and declared that he would teach her but it would probably eat up a good portion of one of their days. That would be their day 2 activity while baking with his mother before dinner would be their day 1 activity. That was how the night went as they bounced ideas off of each other to make up the holiday filled with activities. 

When she got to King’s Cross after getting off of the Hogwarts Express, she spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley talking to a man who she recognized as Cedric’s father. “Ah! There they are!” Mr. Wesley called and waved at the clan of students that were moving towards the adults. 

“Ophelia, dear! How are you?” Mrs. Weasley gave the Hufflepuff girl a hug. “We are so sad you won’t be able to join us for Christmas but we had to visit Bill. We do hope you’ll understand.”

“Oh she will be in good hands, Molly.” Amos Diggory smiled as he fixed his glasses on the top of his nose. “Cedric has been so excited to get to show you how the Diggory’s celebrate the holiday and we hope we won’t disappoint, dear.”

“I bet there won’t be a single prank.” Fred sighed from behind her to his twin who agreed under his breath. 

“Well, Weasley’s, we better be off! I don’t want to keep Lucile waiting. She’s been so excited to decorate cookies with the kids once she found out that Ophelia enjoys baking. I’ll see you at work, Arthur! Enjoy the Hols!” The Diggory’s and Ophelia waved to the red-headed family before they were told it was their turn to exit the magical platform. 

They travelled by portkey to get to the Diggory’s house. Ophelia hated traveling by Portkey but she had done it multiple times to travel with her dad to research on werewolves and possible cures. The three put their fingers on a brass key that Mr. Diggory had in his pocket, wrapped in a canary yellow handkerchief. 

Once they touched the key, the enchanted object sucked them from their current destination and whipped them through to their location with magic. The sensation was still unpleasant but she no longer would throw up from the nausea like she used to. Instead she generally just got slightly dizzy as she landed roughly on her feet. 

“Let me take your things, children.” Mr. Diggory smiled down at them as he waved his wand and sent the trunks flying into the house. “Your mother is waiting for you lot in the kitchen! I’ll be going into town to pick up some food for dinner. Go on, she’s been dying to hear about your terms so far.” 

Cedric and Ophelia walked into the house. It was a quaint house that made Ophelia feel like was the perfect place for her friend. She watched the magical photos on the fireplace mantel dance in front of her eyes. There were so many pictures of Cedric. He was flying on a small, toy broom in one. Another picture, he was making snow angels in the snow with a much younger looking Amos. In another one, he was in Lucille’s lap as he waved his Hogwarts letter to the camera. “Oh… my mum and dad love taking photos. Sorry, it’ll probably happen a lot during the Holiday. Mum lost her brother in the war and her biggest regret was that she didn’t have more pictures to remember him by.”

“I don’t mind at all! I need another photo of the two of us anyways to add to my collection I’m growing. My goal is to make a scrapbook once I’m done with Hogwarts for all of my memories to pass down to my children someday.” She smiled fondly at the pictures, wishing so desperately that she had a scrapbook of her mother and father when they were younger. 

“Well, let’s give you a quick tour of the downstairs before we help mum. Not much to it but it’s home. This is the living room and when you walk through these double doors it leads you into the home office and library. Going down the hallway leads to the dining room and kitchen and then off the side here is the loo. This door leads down to the basement but we aren’t allowed to go down there because it’s where mum develops all of her photos and if the light hits them it can ruin them. Did that once when I was 7, I don’t think I’ve ever seen my mum more upset.” Cedric walked her through the various rooms and to Ophelia’s delight she saw more and more pictures everywhere she went. In the library and home office there was a cute shelf dedicated to Hogwarts. Apparently, the Diggory’s were a Hufflepuff family because there was a picture of Amos and Lucile smiling and laughing in a sea of friends and they were wearing robes with yellow trim. “Come on, let’s go help mum.”

Cedric walked into the kitchen and surprised his mother by giving her a large hug while she was bewitching various bowls of frosting to change colors. “Merlins Beard, Cedric! You’re going to be the reason I get grey hair!” She returned the bright hug and gave him a kiss on his forehead. “Ophelia! It's so good to see you again. Thank Helga Hufflepuff for you otherwise I don’t think our Cedric would’ve made it out of first-year with flying marks.”

Ophelia blushed at the compliment as the kind woman gave her a hug. “Now for the fun! I got all these neat muggle contractions that you put on type of a piping bag that make the frosting into neat shapes and I thought it would be so fun to decorate the cookies this way! It’ll take a little longer but now we have time for you two to tell me all about Hogwarts!”

It took a couple tries for the non-muggles to figure out the piping tips but once they did, the three began to decorate various sugar cookies with the rainbow of colors that Mrs. Diggory had prepared. Cedric dove head first into conversation and told his mother all about how quidditch was going and how Ophelia was still top of their class which was earning Hufflepuff major house points. Ophelia then in turn talked about how Cedric was making so many friends and was quite popular in the other houses as well. They kept complimenting the other person since they knew that the other wouldn’t be fully honest about their achievements. Mrs. Diggory just kept smiling and glancing between the two as she decorated an image of a Christmas tree onto a sugar cookie. “Well I’m very glad you both have each other. Friendship is one of the most important things that I took away from Hogwarts.”

Ophelia didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to hear about the Hufflepuff house from before her so she asked Mrs. Diggory about what Hogwarts was like when she was a child. The older witch’s hazel eyes began to shimmer with memories as she began to talk animated about her time at Hogwarts. She told a very funny story about how a Ravenclaw boy was trying to ask her on a date during her 6th year and he tried sneaking into the Hufflepuff common room. The house sensed that an outsider was trying to get in since he didn’t tap the correct rhythm of “Helga Hufflefpuff” and one of the barrels in the kitchen doused him in vinegar. 

The group began to laugh as they finished decorated the cookies and Mr. Diggory returned. “Oh dear, all the work is done?” He blushed with a huge smile on his face.

“Oh come off of it, Amos. You know you hate cooking and baking.” Mrs. Diggory rolled her eyes and waved her wand, causing all of the dishes to begin to magically clean themselves in the sink. 

With a wave of Mr. Diggory’s wand, plates and cups were set at the small kitchen table and the take out containers soared over to plate themselves onto the various place settings. “Well come on now, let’s all eat.”

Ophelia sat down next to Cedric who began to tell his father about how the quidditch season was going. She bit into a vegetable egg roll and smiled at how at home she felt in the small house with her best friend and his parents. Surely it was a much quieter house than last Christmas, but it was still homey. 

The next morning, Cedric had informed his parents that he was going to teach Ophelia how to ice skate. Mrs. Diggory began to fret about getting hurt and forced him to take a small kit with various muggle and wizarding items to help if one of them were to get hurt. Mr. Diggory waved his wand and added ice skates to the bottom of both of their boots that were slung over their shoulder. “I’ll charm them away once you both are done. Have fun and please be safe.”

Ice skating turned out to be very hard. Ophelia didn’t think it would be harder than flying but boy was she wrong. She had fallen on her ass the first ten times that she tried to stand, and then she was falling onto her knees while she cursed. “You have to not try and jerk when you’re trying to stand.”

Cedric laughed at her as she fell again. “I just think I’m hopeless.” She complained.

“You’re not hopeless. Let me help.” He held out his two hands that were covered in canary yellow knit gloves. “Take my hands and lean against me.”

“Won’t you fall?” She asked nervously, her voice getting more high pitched at the thought of her not only hurting herself but also Cedric in an attempt to skate.

“I’ve been skating with my dad for years. This is how he taught me. Now come on.” He wiggled his fingers and she nervously grabbed onto them. “Now, I’m going to go slow, okay?” Cedric began to skate backwards at a slow pace and to Ophelia’s excitement, she wasn’t falling!

They began to make a slow loop around the edge of the pond and her giggles began to fill the winter air. “This is fun! Can we go a little faster?”

He nodded his head with a big smile. “Of course!” Cedric picked up the pace and they were doing graceful loops around the pond.

After about ten minutes of this, he encouraged her to let go of one of his hands. She was rather nervous but agreed to do so. “You’re doing it!” He cheered her on as they were skating around the pond with their hand connected between the two. “I’m going to let go…”

“Don’t you dare, Diggory!” She shouted but it was too late. 

Cedric gave her a wink and let go of her hand. She closed her eyes, expecting to fall down again but was shocked that she was still gliding over the ice. “Err- Ced?”

“Yea?”

“You haven’t told me how to stop!” She looked frantically where he was laughing.

“Just like this…” He demonstrated how to stop and she attempted to twist her bladed feet just like his but instead she went flying and hit her head against a rock that was on the pond's edge. “Ophelia!”

He skated over to where she was and grabbed for the First-Aid kit that his mother had packed for them. “I’m not really sure what we should use…”

She grabbed the kit from his hand. “Is it bleeding?”

“Yes.”

“How big is the cut?”

He held up his covered fingers and showed her a size that was smaller than a galleon but bigger than a sickle. She nodded and took in this information. She dug through the kit and pulled out muggle gauze, cotton balls and wizarding wound cleaning potions. She poured some of the potion onto a cotton ball and began to dab it over the cut. She then wrapped the gauze around the cut and attached it with the wizarding sticking paste that was in the kit. “There, all better.” She smiled at Cedric who was looking at her with a perplexed look on his face.

“How did you know how to do that?” He asked with sure curiosity in his voice.

She bit her bottom lip, trying to formulate an answer that wasn’t full on lying to him but also didn’t reveal the truth. The full truth was that she had to know how to clean cuts from a very young age since her father would cut himself during his transformations under the full moon. They couldn’t go to a muggle or wizarding doctor so she served as his personal healer. She took over cleaning the wounds and caring for him when she was only 8 years old, insisting that she wanted to help and learn. “My dad taught me. Both him and I are very accident prone and I wanted to help.”

“You’re always the one to lend a helping hand, aren’t you.” He laughed and shook his head as he helped her up to take the skates off.

Once they had back on their other shoes, they went into the house where Mrs. Diggory saw the gauze immediately. “Oh dear, come here!” She forced Ophelia to sit down in the white kitchen chair and eat a cookie for good measure. With the use of magic, she was able to cast the episky charm and heal the cut so that it only left a small scar. “Cedric, did you clean that? It really didn’t need much attention.”

“I did.” Ophelia mumbled between bites of royal icing. “It wasn’t a big deal honestly. It was an accident.”

“I’m not upset at you two.” Mrs. Diggory smiled down at the girl and stroked her dark curls affectionately. “I’m just happy you’re okay. I was shocked it was so clean. You would make an excellent Healer someday.”

Ophelia beamed at the compliment and thought about the possibilities of a future career helping others. Perhaps Madam Pompfrey would help her get some career advice when she was older on the requirements that it would take. 

* * *

Time flew by far too quickly for Ophelia. She was enjoying every moment with the Diggory's and felt right at home. She was rather sad when it was time to board the Hogwarts Express and return to Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory were seeing the two off. Cedric gave both of his parents big hugs and promised that he would write to them.

Ophelia was surprised when Mrs. Diggory pulled her into a tight hug. “I hope to hear from you too, darling! You’re more than welcome anytime at the Diggory household. Even if Cedric isn’t around and you need a mum to talk to…” She let the offer hang in the air but Ophelia’s eyes began to fill with tears and the thoughtful gesture. 

The Hufflepuff students loaded into the Hogwarts Express in a compartment with the twins and Lee Jordan. The five students stuck their heads and hands out the train window and waved frantically at their families who were on the platform, as the train took off. 

“What did you get for Christmas, O?” Lee Jordan asked as he tossed a muggle jelly bean into his mouth. 

“I got jumper from the Weasley’s,” she gestured down to the black jumper with a canary yellow O stitched delicately to the front, “a book on healing properties from my dad, a set of quidditch goggles from the Diggory’s, and some sweets from you, Grace, and Angelina.” She smiled fondly at the memory of having so many gifts to open up and feeling like she had such a strong support system. 

“We got something that is amazing from Bill.” George prompted as he crossed his ankles and leaned back into his seat, tapping his trunk affectionately. 

“Yea… it’s going to get the entire Slytherin house good.” Fred added with mischief in his eyes. 

“Oh no… not another big prank.” Cedric rolled his eyes. 

“We aren’t saying anything!” They said in unison with big smiles on their freckled faces.

Ophelia giggled as the other three began to try and guess what the big and marvelous prank could possibly be. They spent their time like this, throwing sweets into each others open mouths and joking around until the Hogwarts Express pulled up to bring them back to Hogwarts. 


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve: The Great Snake Prank of ‘91**

Adrian Pucey surprised Ophelia on their first tutoring session back at the library. He had tossed a beautifully wrapped present in front of her. “This is from my mum, not me.”

“Why is your mum even getting me a present?” Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline in surprise and worry. “I didn’t get your family anything.”

“We don’t need anything.” He sneered. “Just open it.”

She unwrapped the silver gift wrapping to reveal a small box. Inside the box was a book that advertised that it was the newest best seller according to Witch Weekly about a young girl and her ruling over a magical land. On top of the book was a beautiful bookmark that was silver with an opal gemstone on the end of the string. “This is… this is way too much.” She stuttered out. “I mean… why would your mum get me anything?”

Adrian blushed slightly and waved his wand, banishing the wrapping paper evidence that was on the library table. “I dunno. I didn’t ask. She’s probably just thankful that I’m not failing all of my classes.”

Ophelia swallowed the guilt that was building in her throat. “Well… will you please tell her thank you from me and that it is greatly appreciated?” What a strange thing she was asking of him.

He looked up and shrugged. “Sure.”

When they were finished with their tutoring, instead of breaking apart like usual they walked into the corridor together. Ophelia had so many questions still about the gift. “How did she know that Opal was my birthstone?”

He looked away in embarrassment and cursed Salazar Slytherin under his breath. “She kept a stupid letter from our first year where I was complaining about how the Weasley twin boys paraded you around all day singing Happy Birthday. She wanted to send you a birthday present but I told her that was completely out of line.”

Ophelia opened her mouth in shock when just the same twins that he was talking about, rounded the corner and spotted the two talking. Fred’s face became a mask of fury as he stormed up to the Slytherin boy. “Not bothering, Ophelia are we, Pucey?”

Adrian smirked up at the Weasley. “Of course not. I was just dropping something off for her from my mother. See ya around, Lupin.” He winked and walked towards the dungeons.

She closed her eyes and began cursing under her breath as the twins turned on her. “What in Godric’s name is he talking about?” George asked.

“His mother got me a Christmas present. He was dropping it off.” She slung her black bag off of her shoulder and dug around for the book and held it up. She decided against telling them about the bookmark since she wasn’t even sure if it was a real opal or not on the end of the silver string and she didn’t want them to see the expensive gesture.

“Why the hell is Pucey’s mom giving you a Christmas present?” Fred asked, his face growing darker by the moment and his hands trembling by his side.

“Because I helped him in Potions.” She stated a matter of factly and crossed her arms over her chest. “Besides, what would it matter if I was friends with Pucey, which I don’t think I am but still.”

“You don’t think you are? How do you not know if you’re friends with someone or not?” George snickered as he looked at the book and rolled his eyes. 

“Because he’s a Slytherin. They're not exactly easy to read off of.” She picked an invisible thread on her Hufflepuff cardigan and put the book away in her bag. When she looked back up at Fred he was smiling wickedly now. “Oh no, what are you thinking?”

“Prove that you’re better friends with us than Pucey and help us with our prank.” 

“Fred…” She began to complain.

“Come on! Little Miss. Lupin is probably itching to be involved in another Weasley prank after being boxed up in the Diggory house all Christmas.” He smiled and gave her a pleading look as he dropped down to his knees in the middle of the corridor, not caring that people walking by were giving them strange looks. “Please… please… please… please…”

“Oh my Godric Gryffindor, Weasley! Get a grip!” She grabbed his elbow and tried to pull him so that he was standing but instead his weight just caused her to topple him on top of her. “Fred. Get off of me.”

“Not until you say you’ll help us!” He taunted her as he wiggled his red eyebrows at her. “Come on, Ophelia. Help out your dear friends!”

“If you get off of me and stop making a huge scene, I’ll help you!” She said as her face grew hot with the points and giggles that were coming from girls in the hallway. 

“Excellent!” He cheered and hopped up. Both George and Fred offered her a hand and yanked her up from her spot on the stone ground where she fell down. “We’ll give you the details soon. We just need you to be the distraction.”

* * *

She held the parchment paper with the part of the plan that the twins deemed her trustworthy enough to see. “What the hell does this say right here?  _ Kiss him passionately if you have to? _ I’m not doing that!”

“That was my idea.” George snickered from behind his fish stick that he was eating. “Fred didn’t like it.”

“Shove off, George.” Fred muttered to his twin before turning to Ophelia. “Besides that, what do you think. Is it doable? Do you think you can get close enough to the common room?”

The twins were looking at her with hopeful eyes. She dipped a chip into ketchup and shoved it into her mouth, pondering over the possibility. Their elaborate plan was dedicated on the front end to her distracting Adrian Pucey. She had asked for permission to get Grace involved so that one of his friends was distracted too since Adrian was never alone. They said that was fine. 

The girls were to flirt their way into the common room where Fred and George would throw something in that would go off on a timer apparently. They had 20 minutes to get out of there otherwise they were going to get pranked too. Grace was very excited to be included on the prank. “I hope he is with Montague and not Flint. I much prefer him.”

“Eew… are you saying you fancy a Slytherin?” Lee Jordan asked as he dropped the peas that were on this fork. “That’s disgusting.”

“I’m just saying he’s cute and Marcus Flint is not.” She shrugged. 

“Well… we will plan to do this tomorrow…” Fred began.

“No… not tomorrow… tonight.” Ophelia blushed. “I… I’ve been tutoring Adrian and I will meet with him tonight in the library. It’s already scheduled that way but Grace can come with me saying she needs help too.”

“You’ve been helping him with coursework?” Fred looked like he was going to throw up. “I think I need to send you to therapy for brain damage.”

Cedric looked at Fred with a frown. “She’s just being helpful. Ophelia always helps people, that's why she’s a great friend. You should know that since she helps you guys all the time with homework, pranks, and everything in between.”

Fred looked like he wanted to fly over the Hufflepuff table and punch Cedric. George put a hand on his twin's shoulder and laughed it off. “Man, Fred is just wound up from this prank. Once it’s pulled off… everyone will be a lot more calm. Well except for Slytherin of course.”

* * *

Later that night, Adrian Pucey stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two Hufflepuff girls at their usual library table instead of one. “Grace is close to failing this chapter in Potions. She needs my help.”

He nodded and sat down suspiciously. Apparently being outnumbered made him nervous. Grace smiled kindly at the boy. “You can invite a friend if you like. I don’t bite.”

Oh, Merlin, Ophelia was going to have to ask Grace how she changed her voice to flirt like that. Adrian blushed and sent a magiced paper crane flying into the air to go get whatever friend it was meant for. They began to work together as Ophelia walked the two through the procedures of the Potion they were making that month.

They were interrupted by Graham Montague sliding the wooden chair next to Adrian out and sitting in it backwards. “Evening, ladies. Fancy seeing you here.”

“At the library?” Ophelia asked with a raised eyebrow. “This is where I spend nearly all of my time.”

“What do you think us Hufflepuff’s spend all of our time in the common room and greenhouse?” Grace challenged, leaning forward on her elbows. “Tell me what you think us Hufflepuffs do in our free time.”

“Certainly not hanging out with Slytherins.” Montague laughed but was caught up in something in Grace’s look like a challenge. “But clearly you’re proving us wrong.”

“I’m tough enough to hangout with Slytherins.” Grace crossed her arms over her canary yellow tie and turned to Ophelia. “So is, O.”

Adrian snickered and shook his head. “Yea maybe two of us but not the whole lot of Snakes.”

“I bet you a galleon that we could too last. Take us to the Slytherin common room and we will prove it immediately.” 

The two boys looked at each other with shock in their eyes. Pucey turned to her and narrowed his dark eyes. “You can’t tell anyone what the inside looks like. They will make sure of it. You’ll have to sign the outsiders book.”

“The what--?” Grace began but Montague held up a hand.

“Are you in or are you out? Since you both are so tough.” He put emphasis on the last word like he didn’t believe for one bit that they would last in there. 

Ophelia packed up her books and stood up with her black bag slung over her shoulder. “Well. Come on.” She had to go now otherwise she would lose the courage and run back to the Hufflepuff common room, disappointing Fred and George. 

The boys whistled and got up. “I’m going to be honest, Ophelia. I’m surprised you want to do this.” Adrian said as they walked down the corridors.

She was focussing so hard on keeping her breathing even that she almost didn’t hear him. “Why is that?”

“Well… for starters, we have been studying together in a hidden part of the library so no one can see us and now you are willing to walk into the Slytherin common room? That will surely put a target on your back by some of your friends I’m sure.” He chuckled darkly.

“How so?”

“You really don’t think that this will be significant? Slytherin members remember who was daring enough to step into the snake pit. You’ll have people defending you now and coming up to talk to you over this.” He rolled his eyes. “I bet you Hufflepuff’s just let anyone into your common room.”

“Well… that’s kind of true. It’s not password protected.”

“What?” His eyes grew large in curiosity. “How is it not password protected?”

“Well you just have to go into the kitchen and tap on a barrel and it reveals the crawl space to get to the common room. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.” She shrugged and silently hoped he would so that they could see someone get doused with vinegar just like Mrs. Diggory’s story. 

Graham Montague stopped at the bottom of the marble staircase and gestured his arm towards the descending steps to the dungeon. The group walked down them and at the bottom of the narrow staircase was the door that led to Snape’s office. Near that was a bare stretch of stone wall where Montague whispered something so the girls’ couldn't’ hear. An entrance appeared and a green light came through. “Enter if you dare, ladies.”

Ophelia didn’t have to check if the twins were there. Instead she pretended to be nervous and gave Grace a look. She couldn’t tell if Grace was acting or if the other Hufflepuff girl was genuinely terrified of entering into the Snake Den as they occasionally called it during classes. “Knew you wouldn’t.” Adrian rolled his eyes.

This sent adrenaline down her spine. She straightened her shoulders and walked forward with Grace hot on her heels. Once they were inside, she looked around taking in her surroundings. The common room had green lamps and chairs all around which gave the room the glow that bled into the hallway when the entrance opened. She looked at the window and gave out a small gasp when she saw a mermaid swim by. They must’ve been under the lake. The boys led them to a low backed, black leather sofa with a dark coffee table in front of them that had a skull on it and a book. He handed the book to her. “Sign it.”

“What?”

“You have to sign it. It has a spell in it that ensures that you won’t tell others how to get in here or what the common room looks like.” He gave her a black quill and she bit her lip out of nervousness before she signed her name and handed the book to Grace who did the same. 

The boys looked rather pleased with themselves. “Well, what do you think?”

“It’s rather… dark.” Grace said and looked around. “The Hufflepuff room I think is quite the opposite of this room.”

Montague cocked his head and thought about that asking the girls what the Hufflepuff common room looked like. Grace winked and told him to go and find out for himself like they did. Ophelia giggled to herself. She couldn’t help but let her mind wander and think about how this was almost her common room. During the hat stall last year, the Sorting Hat thought she would do well in this environment and the Slytherin students would help her achieve greatness. Perhaps was he trying to tell her something?

She shook the thought away. Realizing she was much happier in the bright and cheerful Hufflepuff common room instead of this literal dungeon. “Game of Exploding Snap?” Adrian offered, clearly seeing that she was nervous. 

They began a heated game of Exploding Snap and the girls lost track of time. That is, until there was a sizzling sound near the entrance. Grace’s dark eyes found Ophelia’s blue ones and they forgot the important part of the plan, get out before twenty minutes. Had it really been that long?

A loud hissing combined with the sizzling sound and a giant snake exploding from the entrance. The Slytherin students cried out and dove under coffee tables or up to the dorms. The snake was a giant green firework that was burning and destroying everything in its path. Ophelia clung to her bag, trying to protect her books from the destruction. 

Grace jumped up as the Snake dove for the sofa that she was on. She didn’t get directly hit but the back of her calves got burnt pretty badly. She cried out in pain and Ophelia crouched down to her side. 

“You did something didn’t you?” Adrian demanded as he grabbed her shoulder.

“Why would I hurt my friend?” She pushed his hand off of her shoulder and pulled out the anti-burn cream that she kept in her bag before she began to apply it to her friend, starting the slow healing process. “Grace we need to get you to Madam Promfrey.”

As she stood up, she had to jump out of the way because the Snake was flicking fireworks in every direction, ruining sofas and books. Her bag dropped in the process and she dove to collect it. It was only a couple feet away on an emerald green carpet and she knew she could be quick. She could collect it. She promised herself over and over again that she wasn’t being stupid as she jumped for the bag. She heard Grace scream for her and Adrian yell her name. That’s when the world went blank.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Healer Hands

**Chapter Thirteen: Healer Hands**

Ophelia felt like she had swallowed flames as she woke up with a pounding headache. There was shouting in the room as tender hands were on her temple. “It’ll be okay, dear. Your friends got you here just in time.”

She looked around the room, trying to figure out where here was. Ophelia was on a white cot with a white blanket. There was blue curtains hanging around her and when she focused her eyes hard enough, she recognized Madam Pomphrey. “What happened?”

When the words left her throat, tears swelled down her face. Her throat felt like it was raw and on fire. “Don’t talk yet, dear. Let the potion work.” Madam Pomphrey lifted her chin and poured a thick, tar like potion down her throat that made Ophelia want to throw up. “We’ve informed your father that you are okay but that you are going to stay the night in the hospital wing. Don’t worry, he will be here soon.”

Her dad would be here? Her eyes opened wind and Madam Pomfrey smiled down at her. “I treated your father for many years. It will be nice to see him again but I wish it was under different circumstances. Apparently, whatever went off in the Slytherin common room, you got the full blast of it. You have burns all over your body and you swallowed a firework that came out of the things mouth.” 

She shuddered at the thought and realized her arms and legs were covered in gauzes that were drenched in potions. She looked over Madam Pomfrey’s shoulder to see Grace, Adrian Pucey, Graham Montague, Cedric, and Jacob. They were all looking down rather worried at the Hufflepuff girl. “I’ll leave you alone with her.” The old healer said to the students. “Give her a few moments for the potion to work.”

“God, Ophelia. You look horrible.” Jacob joked as he sunk into a hospital chair near the foot of her bed. “What happened? Cedric and I we saw Grace following these two and we thought they kidnapped you.”

Adrian shot the Hufflepuff boy a dirty glance. “Someone rigged the common room and they were there. She couldn’t leave her stupid books and the snake--”

Grace began to wail. “The snake swallowed you, Ophelia! I thought you d-d-died! You’re not allowed to die, do you hear me?” Her friend sank down next to the hospital chair and began to braid the new hair that was obviously fixed by Madam Pomphrey. “I don’t know what I would do without you. You. Are. Not. Allowed. To. Do. That.”

Ophelia turned her lips up slightly, ignoring the protest that her new skin was giving. She opened her mouth and managed a whisper. “I’m sorry, Gracie.”

“What do you mean a snake?” Cedric asked, turning to the Slytherin boys.

“Someone rigged the common room so a snake made of fireworks went off and it was destroying everything in it’s path. It had just burnt Grace when her bag fell out of her hands and she dove to get it when the snake was aiming for that area.” Montague seemed to turn green slightly at the memory. “There was an awful burning smell and we realized it was her skin.”

“We took her here as soon as possible. Snape heard all the commotion and ended the firework show. He’s currently trying to hunt down the ones responsible. Do you have any ideas who that might be?” Adrian asked Cedric and Ophelia’s stomach dropped. Of course Cedric knew who would pull this prank. 

He turned to see Ophelia, crumpled and growing back skin in front of him. “Yea. I know who did this. I’ll even take you to them with Snape.”

The Slytherin boys both nodded and followed Cedric and Jacob out of the room. “I don’t want the twins to get in trouble.” Ophelia groaned, feeling the sensation of new vocal cords.

“You could have died, O. They deserve to be punished. This was too far.” Her friend tied a canary yellow ribbon at the bottom of the braid and sank down into the hospital chair next to Ophelia. “I love you, O. I won’t let you get hurt again.”

She was going to respond when Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall were talking to a man who just walked into the entrance of the hospital wing. “She’s right over here, Remus.” 

Her father saw Ophelia and began to tear up. “Oh Godric, O. What the bloody hell happened?” Tears began to fill his normally passive eyes as he sank down into a chair across from Grace. “Who was responsible for this?” He demanded to McGonagall.

“We are looking for the culprits right now. It seemed it was a prank gone wrong.” Her eyebrow quirked up as she gave her father a pointed look. 

“I don’t care if it was a prank or not. I want justice to be served. Whoever it is better be losing major house points over this and apologize to my daughter.” Ophelia squeezed her father’s hand slightly and his attention went back to her. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’m here. You’ll be okay.” He brushed his hand over the braid and turned his attention to Grace. “You must be Grace. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m sorry we are meeting in this way.”

Her friend smiled. “I’m just happy she’s okay. I’ll leave you, O. I’ll come get you tomorrow before breakfast.” Grace gave her a quick kiss on the top of her braids and dashed out of the hospital wing.

“Do you know who did this?” Her father asked her as Professor Sprout went to go talk to Madam Pomfrey, leaving the head of Gryffindor and her father near her bedside.

Ophelia opened her mouth to answer when Professor Snape came busting through the doors of the Hospital Wing with Fred and George in front of him. He had his hand gripped so tightly on their robes, that the boys wouldn’t be able to escape even if they tried. “Ahh--- Remus.” He nodded his dark eyes towards her father who tensed up at the sight of her Potions professor.

“Sniv-- I mean… Severus.” Remus nodded and narrowed his eyes at Snape before looking at who was in his hands. “You boys?”

“We didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt!” George complained as he tried to twist out of Professor Snape’s grip. “We are really sorry!”

“You boys are lucky that Mr. Pucey and Mr. Montague were able to carry poor Miss. Lupin from the dungeons to the hospital wing. She was so badly burnt Madam Pomfrey is having to regrow her skin and some tendons! What do you have to say about all this?” Professor McGonagall has never looked so scary to Ophelia in her life and the anger wasn’t even directed towards her.

“We are so sorry, O.” Fred looked like he was going to cry as he watched his friend struggle to sit up before wincing in pain. “We didn’t mean for you to get hurt.”

“So a Slytherin getting hurt would’ve been fine?” Professor Snape drawled from behind them with a cruel sneer on his face. “I think we should take this conversation to one of our offices, Minerva to discuss their punishments. I want to see justice served to the damage done to the Slytherin common room and blatant disregard for others.”

Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey were now around the bedside as well. “I do think that points should also be awarded to the three who were able to bring Miss. Lupin back here. I suggest 10 points awarded to each member, Mr. Pucey, Mr. Montague, and Miss. Thorne. So 20 points to Slytherin and 10 points to Hufflepuff.”

“I hate to admit it, but I think we need to award 10 points to Mr. Diggory as well for turning in the perpetrators.” Professor Snape sighed. 

“Fair.” Professor McGonagall glanced over to the Lupin’s. “I do think we need to take this conversation elsewhere to let Ophelia rest.”

As they turned to leave, Fred desperately tried to get out of Professor Snape’s grip as he shouted out. “I really am sorry, O! Please forgive us!” Before the large double doors slammed shut, effectively cutting off his calls out to her. 

There was silence while she waited for her father to speak. “Were you involved?”

She felt tears fill her eyes. “Fred wanted me to prove I was a good friend so he told us he was going to prank the Slytherin common room but I didn’t know what was going to happen. He told Grace and I to get out after twenty minutes but- but- we lost track of time and then-- I was being stupid. I’m so sorry, dad.” 

“Don’t apologize. The boys weren’t thinking properly. I just think that for now… it might be best if you take a break from going to the Weasley’s house.”

“What?! That’s not fair, dad! I was the reason I didn’t get out in time--”

“So this would’ve been okay if it were a Slytherin boy or girl in this hospital bed instead of you?” Her father challenged with a knowing look in his eye. “I will talk to Arthur and explain to him why I feel this way in case there are misunderstandings. Knowing Molly, I expect the boys will be getting plenty of Howler’s over this.”

* * *

Her father was right about Mrs. Weasley’s anger. He had seen the Weasley’s via the Floo Network that night and informed them of what happened. After Grace brought her to the Great Hall for breakfast, the mail came. The Great Hall became filled with Mrs. Weasley’s shrieks of disappointment. 

“HOW DARE YOU TOO CAUSE SUCH HARM TO SOMEONE! YOUR BROTHER GOT YOU SMALL FIREWORKS THAT YOU CHARMED INTO SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS AND YOU FOOLISHLY LET IT OFF INSIDE AND IT BURNED OPHELIA! NOW BECAUSE OF YOUR ACTIONS YOUR FRIEND ISN’T ALLOWED TO COME OVER TO THE BURROW DURING THE SUMMER SO I HOPE YOU TWO ARE HAPPY! YOUR SISTER IS DEVASTATED BY LOSING THE CHANCE TO HAVE ANOTHER GIRL AROUND!

YOUR FATHER HAD TO CONVINCE REMUS LUPIN NOT TO END OUR FAMILY FRIENDSHIP WHICH HAS BEEN BEING BUILT SINCE OUR TIME AT HOGWARTS SO HOW DARE YOU! YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE TO OPHELIA EVERYDAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE FOR ALMOST KILLING HER! I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE DISAPPOINTED IN A CHILD OF MINE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!”

When the red envelope ripped up in front of the twins, they glanced over to the Hufflepuff table with looks of pure sadness on their faces. Cedric shook his head as they got up to come over to the table. It seemed that Grace and Jacob were on the same page as the two swung around in the bench to stand in front of Ophelia. “They aren’t going to hurt me, guys.”

“They already did.” Cedric snapped. 

That is how the days went now. Ophelia wasn’t allowed alone without one of her Hufflepuff friends around her, as if to be a bodyguard. She would see glances of red hair and the twins would try to get close to her but Grace, Jacob, or Cedric would pull her in another direction or block her from view. She grew saddened with the absence of their bold laughs and jokes to fill the air. She knew her friends were trying to help but all she wanted to do was give the twins a hug and assure them that she wasn’t mad. 

She got her opportunity when she was leaving the Hufflepuff common room to grab a midnight snack from the kitchens. Just as she was leaving, she heard two boys scream out in shock. 

Fred and George were currently getting a shower in vinegar as they knocked on the wrong barrel, attempting to sneak into the Hufflepuff common room. “What the bloody hell do you two idiots think you’re doing?”

“Ophelia!” They shouted in unison.

Despite the disgusting vinegar smell, she let the Gryffindor boys give her a tight hug. “We’ve missed you! We are so so sorry about what happened. We thought we had the magic under control but we didn’t.” George admitted.

“Why were you still in there? I told you. I told you twenty minutes. This would never have happened if you got out of there.” Fred was angry as Ophelia led the three to the snacks the house elves left out for students who dared to sneak out of their common rooms. 

“This isn’t her fault, Fred.” 

“I know.” He sighed in defeat. “I just hate myself that I hurt you, Ophelia. I vow-”

“-and I vow-” George added

“To never harm you ever again.” They said in perfect, twin unison. 

She laughed at them as she nibbled on a jelly filled donut that was in the pile of sweets. The rest of the night, she spent in the kitchens, catching up with the twins and joking about the look on the Slytherin’s faces as the dragon destroyed their common room. 

As they began to leave Fred sighed again and gave Ophelia a bone crushing hug. “You were never supposed to get hurt, O.”

“It’s okay, Freddie.”

“No. It’s not. We are going to work on improving our magic and actually focussing more so that we don’t hurt other people when we prank. This can’t ever happen again.”

“The Weasley twins paying attention in school? Pinch me I think I’m dreaming!” She laughed as they playfully swatted at her.

She thought they were joking. That is, until they began to take notes in classes and answer questions. Of course, they would still mess around and play pranks. But now, they were not in the top of the class but they were rising in the ranks quickly. All of the professors accused them of cheating but were shocked when they passed all of the truth tests that were put on them. The Weasley twins were beginning to become book smart. It was a scary sight indeed. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Shivers and Whispers

**Chapter Fourteen: Shivers and Whispers**

As the end of term was creeping upon all of the students and staff members at Hogwarts, tensions were running high. This was especially the case for the older students. In the Hufflepuff common room, Tonks’ hair turned bright red and she screamed at a group of First Years who were playing Exploding Snap while the 7th years were trying to study for their mastery exams for the N.E.W.T level classes. 

Ophelia was taking a moment from studying with her friends to wrap up a present for the twins that she had saved up for. She purchased them a muggle joke and prank set which she was sure that they would enjoy trying to charm into more advanced joke products. She was half way through wrapping the kit in a maroon colored wrapping paper when Grace let out a loud sigh, that was begging for her to ask what was wrong. She wasn’t going to take the bait at first, and ignored her friend. Grace sighed another time even louder and to prevent Tonks from blowing up on her group of friends, Ophelia looked up. “Is there something you would like to say, Grace?”

“I just thought you weren’t getting the twin’s a birthday present this year I suppose.”

“Well… it doesn’t count anyways because this is late. Their birthday was last week and it hadn’t come in the mail yet.” Ophelia shrugged and added a silver bow to the top of the present. “Besides, I needed to get my mind off of the exams.”

Cedric shook his head. “Just be careful, O. We worry about you. It’s like you’ve completely forgotten about the Snake Prank already.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Ophelia argued. “If anything, that should show you that you all shouldn’t be holding a grudge against them anymore if I’ve already forgiven them. I’m the one who should be mad. I was mad, and now I’ve forgiven them. It’s called balance.” 

The girl got up from her spot on the black arm chair and looked at all of her friends faces before giving them a nod of goodbye to leave the common room. She didn’t know if the boys were in the common room but she knew that if she saw someone that they would know a Weasley to hand the package to.

Her shoes smacked against the stone floor, sending echoes throughout the hallway since most people were locked up, finishing papers and homework assignments. She skipped her way up towards Gryffindor tower. Ophelia took the moving staircases up to the Fat Lady painting outside of Gryffindor Landing. She knew that she might have to wait a while and was prepared for this. She sat down on the top step outside of the portrait and opened up her Herbology book and began to study.

She got through 4 pages of material when she heard someone laugh. “Did you get lost making it to the Hufflepuff common room? You seem a little old to be doing that now.” Charlie Weasley smiled down at her with a Care for Magical Creatures N.E.W.T level book tucked under his arm.

“Come on, Weasley. You really think I’m that thick?” Ophelia laughed. “I’m actually looking for the twins. Their birthday present finally came in the mail.”

“I’ll go get them. Hold on. Last time I knew they were in their dormitory with Lee.” The Gryffindor Quidditch captain whispered something to the Fat Lady and the portrait swung open, giving Ophelia a glance inside to red and gold arm chairs and a roaring fire. 

When Charlie disappeared completely inside, the portrait smacked shut and the portrait glared at her. “What are you still doing here?”

“Just waiting for some people inside.”

“I caught you looking inside. This is for Gryffindor eyes only, young lady.” The portrait narrowed her eyes. “I better not catch you trying to sneak inside otherwise I’ll--”

Before the Fat Lady portrait could give her some type of threat, she swung open again and Fred and George popped out of the entrance. “What is this nice surprise?” Fred asked with his eyebrows raised, already spotting the wrapped present at her feet.

“Your birthday present came in the mail finally!” She smiled at the two and handed the maroon package to them.

They joined her, sitting on the top step of the stairway and opened up the wrapping. Their brown eyes lit up with excitement as they pulled out all the various pranks and joke products. “These are wonderful!” George laughed as he had his index fingers stuck inside the muggle puzzle made of bamboo that only tightened when the victim attempted to pull their fingers outward. 

“You didn’t have to get us anything.” Fred laughed as he was playing with a pair of noise makers. “These are pretty neat though. I bet we could make these even more powerful!”

“This gave me an excuse to leave my studies for a while.” She lied, knowing that she was looking for a meaningful gift to get the twins for a while in the Muggle magazine that one of the Hufflepuff first years was going to throw away. “I just wanted to show you guys that turning 13 is something to celebrate!”

Fred and George gave her big hugs as they thanked her once again for the thoughtful gift. She stayed to talk for a little bit before she got up and stretched her arms above her head. “Leaving so soon?” Fred complained.

“I really need to get back to studying. I hope you boys are doing the same and not just messing around. Especially now that you have more distractions.” She hinted at the kit in their hands.

Fred laughed and pulled her in for another hug. “Thanks again, O.” He whispered as he was hugging her, which sent a shiver down Ophelia’s spine.

“Er-- no problem, Freddie. I had to treat my boys right.” She gave them a smile and a wave before turning back towards the kitchens.

She was walking like she was in a trance thinking of how when he whispered into her ear it had made her feel so… weird. Was that normal? She had to talk to Grace immediately about it. Hopefully her friend wouldn’t mind too much since the topic of conversation was going to be none other than Fred Weasley.

Once she made it to the correct barrel and tapped the rhythm of “Helga Hufflepuff”, she darted into the common room and grabbed her friend's shoulder. “Grace. Girl talk. Now.”

Cedric and Jacob rolled their eyes as Grace looked up at her with a serious look on her face. “What level of importance are we talking about because I really need to get through this Potions chapter.”

“I’ll give you my chapter notes on whatever chapter you need if you come with me. It’s a code red and I need you!” Ophelia wrapped her fingers around Grace’s wrists as her friend sighed and cleaned up her items from the coffee table.

Once the girls were in the second year's dorm room, Ophelia brought them to her bed and drew the canary yellow curtains around the four poster bed. She casted a muffliato charm and looked at her friends. “I think I like Fred Weasley?” She shouted out to Grace.

“You… what?” Grace replied. Her eyes brightened with shock and a mischievous smile filled her face. “I’m sorry but this is amazing. What made you think this?”

Ophelia dove into the story about what had just happened outside of the Gryffindor common room. She grimaced and told her about how Fred leaned into get another hug and whispered into her ear to say something and it sent a shiver down her spine. At this Grace fell backwards onto Ophelia’s pillows and started laughing. “Oh this is fan-fucking-tastic!”

Ophelia whined and flew back onto the pillows next to her friend. “Stop making fun of me. I need you right now.”

“I’m sorry but of course you would start liking Fred after your father and friends begin to hate him. It’s just your perfect timing.” She laughed again and turned her head so that the two girls were staring at each other. “Look… I think that Fred likes you too for all it matters.”

“You do?”

“He was braiding your hair earlier this year for godric’s sake. I swear you are oblivious as the boys sometimes.” Grace shook her head and looked back to the canary yellow fabric over their heads. “I do think though that maybe you should wait and see how you feel after the summer. You’ll be away from him and maybe try and convince your dad he isn’t a bad guy. Otherwise, it’ll just be messy.”

“Maybe you have a point…” Ophelia bit her bottom lip out of nerves. 

“Unless of course you were just taken off guard…” She joked before leaning into her ear and whispering, “Am I making you shiver?”

“Oh Merlin, no.” She laughed and pushed her friend's lips away from her ear. “I suppose only Fred will be able to make you shiver for now.”

***

Throughout classes for the next couple weeks leading up to exams, Ophelia was very distracted. She kept glancing at Fred when they had double classes with the Gryffindors and tried to place her feelings towards him. She knew that her father wouldn't’ approved of anything between them right now. 

She almost lost Hufflepuff points in Defense Against the Dark Arts as she was daydreaming about Fred whispering into her ear. Luckily, Grace nudged her and she was able to maintain her composure and ask for the question to be repeated, claiming she felt a little off today.

As her friends walked out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the twins swooped next to her. “Did our eyes deceive us?” Fred began.

“Or did Miss. Lupin actually have to have a question repeated today?” George added.

She bit down on her teeth hard, trying to come up with a witty or sarcastic come back but all she could catch was Grace’s knowing smile and laugh from behind the twins. “I can’t have off days?” She demanded as she huffed before storming towards the Great Hall, hearing her friends hot on her heels. 

She sat down at the Hufflepuff table and grabbed a BLT sandwich and put it on her plate with some cut up strawberries.  _ Breathe in, and out. Breathe in, and out.  _ She hadn’t been this nervous since Quidditch tryouts and this was because of…  _ Fred _ .

Ophelia shook the thought out of her head as her friends joined her at the table. Thankfully, the twins went to go sit with the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Grace began to laugh as she saw how pink Ophelia’s cheeks had turned. “This is so cute, O.”

“Drop it.” She growled back to her friend.

“What’s so cute?” Cedric demanded.

“NO!” Ophelia held up a finger and pointed it at Grace who held her hands up and giggled. “No you are not going to tell them anything.”

“I wouldn’t dare!” Grace assured.

Once Ophelia put her finger down from pointing at the Hufflepuff girl she heard Grace mumble something under her breath. “What was that?” Cedric asked.

“NO!” Ophelia yelled again.

After lunch it was very interesting. Cedric and Jacob wouldn’t stop pouting about being left out and Grace kept on hinting about what was going on. Ophelia silently thanked Helga and all the Hogwarts Founders that the two boys were too thick and didn’t know what to think of Grace’s odd behavior and jokes today. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Summer of ‘91

**Chapter Fifteen: Summer of ‘91**

The Great Hall was once again decorated in emerald green and silver for the End of Term feast since Slytherin destroyed the competition in the house cup. Ophelia was sitting next to Grace and Cedric at the Hufflepuff table as Dumbledore was awarding Snape with the shiny award. Everyone clapped reluctantly for the Slytherin’s.

“I swear, if Slytherin doesn’t lose next year I think I might pull my hair out.” Grace moaned as she loaded her plate up with the Hogwarts delicacies that the house-elves prepared for the evening. “I don’t think Slytherin could get any more big-headed!”

“You better give them hell. I wanted Hufflepuff to win so badly for my last year.” Tonks said with a sigh as she stabbed a green bean with the silver fork. “Now I pass the torch to you young ‘puffs.”

“Didn’t you lose Hufflepuff major points by pretending to be Professor Snape?” Cedric pointed out as Tonks rolled her eyes at him.

“You still have to have fun! Otherwise what’s the point of living if you don’t enjoy the present!” She ruffled the younger boy's hair before he could dodge her hand before returning to her conversation with the other 7th year Hufflepuff students. 

“Well, I do think that the way they hand out points is totally unfair.” Ophelia said to her friends. “Anytime I answer a question, I’m awarded one point in Snape’s class but if a Slytherin answers a question it’s 5. That’s how they get a head so much. Snape cheats.”

“Well stop helping them.” Grace grunted and then winked. “You could help out Gryffindor more.”

Ophelia kicked her friend from under the long table and she yelped in response. “What is with you two lately?” Cedric asked with his eyebrows raised.

“Girl stuff… you wouldn’t want to know.” She raised her eyebrows, challenging Cedric to push on and ask her more questions. He didn’t, instead he just turned to Jacob and she heard them talking about how mental girls were. 

* * *

The ride home was very interesting to say the least. Their compartment was filled with Fred, George, Lee, Grace, Ophelia, Jacob, and Cedric. It was so crammed that Fred had opted to sit on his trunk in the middle of the compartment. The two twins were laughing and making small sparks come out of their wands, fighting in the sky to make various colors burst in their small compartment. The others clapped and cheered at the appropriate times, not wanting the moment that they pulled into King’s Cross to approach since that would mean parting ways.

Tonk’s joke about passing on the torch had been bothering Ophelia for a while. She knew that she just finished her second year but it scared her how fast time moved at Hogwarts. It was as if someone had been holding down the fast-forward button on the muggle CD player that her father kept in the living room. She nudged Grace with her elbow who tore her eyes away from the spark show. “We should take a picture of the compartment with your camera you got for Christmas.”

Her friend lit up with the suggestion. “Brilliant! Fred, George, keep playing the spark show. We are going to take a picture.”

At the mention of the attention on them, Fred perked up and gave a wink to the two Hufflepuff girls as they balanced the camera on the ledge of the door. Grace set a spell that would work as a timer so they could find their places back in the compartment. Once they were sat, the flash went off, capturing the group of friends laughing and enjoying the twins' antics. 

“I’ll mail you all a copy!” Grace beamed as she held her camera in her hand. She turned her torso towards Jacob and Cedric and snapped a shot of the two boys who blinked in protest. “Now take one of O and I.”

Cedric grabbed a hold of the grey camera and held it up to his eyes. “Say… THIRD YEAR!”

“Third year!” The two girls called together and laughed brightly.

Her eyes were watering as the train began to slow down, showing that they were nearing King’s Cross. “I’m going to miss you all so much.”

“Don’t get emotional on us, Lupin.” Lee Jordan joked as he grabbed his Gryffindor trunk from the rack above his head. “We can’t have you crying when you get to the platform, otherwise the adults will think we pranked you.”

The twins’ started to get antsy at that thought. Their parents didn’t know that the group had made up from the Snake Prank that had harmed Ophelia back in January. “Well, I’ll just have to tell them the truth that I’m an emotional wreck from being separated from the best people at Hogwarts in our year.”

“Oh come on. This is exactly what I’m talking about.” Lee teased again.

Fred lifted up his trunk and helped Ophelia get hers down. “Would it be okay if I still wrote to you this Summer? I don’t want us to stop being friends over the holiday because of your dad.”

She smiled up at her tall, ginger friend. “I would be mad if you didn’t write. I expect a Floo call or two as well. Perhaps, I’ll run away to the Weasley house for a while. Who knows.” 

Fred smiled brightly and carried her trunk with him off of the Hogwarts Express. The group began to separate as they saw their respective parents. Cedric gave Ophelia a kiss on the top of the head and a big hug before he left to go to his father. Grace squeezed her friend and gave her two big kisses on either of her cheeks and began to tear up making Ophelia promise her that they would hang out over the Summer.

The big show of emotions was making Ophelia get teary eyed. By the time they made it over to her father, he was calmly looking between Fred holding her trunk and Ophelia with tears in her eyes. “Lovely to see you, dear.” He wrapped his arms around her tightly. “Mr. Weasley. I think your family is over there.” He nodded his head towards the family of red-heads who were watching closely at the interaction.

“Oh yes. I know. I was just helping Ophelia out and bringing her trunk over here.” Fred smiled brightly and set the trunk down now. “Er- have a good Summer, O.” He glanced at her father who was staring at him with his eyebrows raised. Fred bit his lip nervously before giving Ophelia a quick hug and walking over to his parents who were asking him a million questions. 

“Seems like you’ve got a lot of friends.”

“You said that last year.” She pointed out as they waited for their turn to run through the brick magical barrier. “Are you mad?”

“Worried would be a better word I think to place the emotions I’m feeling right now. You have to understand, I thought my only child had died and to find out the cause of it was some of my friends' sons… it’s a lot to take in, dear.” He nodded politely at the employee who informed them that it was their turn to go. 

When they crashed through the door, her father made sure that no one was looking and he pulled out a muggle baseball from his coat pocket which he held out to Ophelia to hold onto with him. Once both of their hands were connected, they were sucked away through magic to their house. When she landed firmly on the ground, her father gave her another hug. “I’ll put a kettle on and we can have a cup of tea while you tell me all about your year, dear.”

* * *

_ To my dear friend Ophelia, _

_ The pictures we took on the Hogwarts Express turned out beautifully! My parents are going on a trip to the United States of America to watch my cousin play Quidditch and I begged them to let me bring a friend. Guess what…? They said yes! We are going at the end of the month so please ask your father for permission and let me know ASAP if you can go! I hope you can. I told my mom all about you and she said that she cannot wait to meet you. It’s almost not fair that the Diggory’s and the Weasley’s got to meet you but the Thorne’s haven’t gotten a chance yet! My dad is a muggle just a warning so he can’t do magic but he is a chef so he will cook us all sorts of amazing food the night before we leave! _

_ Enjoy the pictures! I attached them in another envelope tucked in here so they wouldn’t get damaged. I sent copies to everyone else as well. Cannot wait to see your beautiful face again in person! _

_ Anyways, I must be off I have to go help my younger sister read, she got accepted into Hogwarts this year! Maybe there will be another Thorne Hufflepuff for us to entertain! _

_ XOXOXOXO _

_ Your favorite Hufflepuff _

_ G.T _

Ophelia took out the moving pictures and stared at them in awe. They truly did capture the moment in the train compartment and she would treasure them forever. She looked at the one of the two Hufflepuff girls, throwing their head back in laughter after shouting to the camera and smiled. “Dad!” She called out from her bedroom and ran down into the living room.

“What is it?” He put a bookmark into the spot of the spell casting book he was researching from and raised his eyebrows as she approached him.

“Look, it’s Grace and I!” Ophelia smiled and sat on the couch next to him. “She asked me if I could join her on a trip to America to watch her cousin play Quidditch there. It would be her mum and her sisters going. Her dad’s a muggle chef so he won’t join us. It would just be one night, please can I go?”

Her father’s corner of his kind eyes crinkled as he smiled. “You look like you have a lot of fun with Grace. I’m sure her family are kind people. Yes you may go for the night. Ask her how you will be traveling to her house so I can set up a Portkey if needed or if they will be coming to pick you up.”

“Yay! You’re the best!” She gave her father a kiss on the cheek before bounding over to the fireplace and taking some of the green powder to Floo Grace immediately.

She stuck her head near the green flames and waited for someone at her house to answer. “Hello, Thorne resident!” A small girl with Grace’s eyes and complexion answered the call. “Oi, you’re Opheila aren’t you! I’m Melody, her little sister. Did she tell you I got my Hogwarts letter in the mail?”

“Yes she did! I hope to see you in Hufflepuff, little one.” She gave the girl a wink. “I’m actually trying to reach Grace right now. Is she there?”

“Melody! Did you take the last scone?” Grace’s voice boomed from beyond the flames view. “I swear I could-- hang on, Ophelia! What are you doing?” The girl shoved her younger sister away from the flames and smiled at her friend. “Did you talk to your dad about the match? Please tell me he said yes because if he didn’t I think I might die!”

Ophelia threw her head back at her friend’s dramatics and laughed. “Calm down, yes I’m going. He just wants to know if your mum will be picking me up or if he needs to set up a Portkey.”

“Mum can pick you up! We can travel by Floo, is that alright?” 

Ophelia nodded in response.

“Great!” Grace chimed. “I’ll have my Mum send a letter with more information with everything and your ticket to the match! We are going to be in the family box seats so it’s going to be so nice! I’ve never been to America before! Maybe we will see cute boys there--”

“Oh my godric, Grace. Do you ever stop thinking about boys?”

“Well obviously, but they’re just so much more fun to think about! Anyways, catch ya later… my mum is yelling at me for shoving Melody. I’ll see you soon, love!” Grace blew her a kiss through the flames and disappeared.

Ophelia got up, hearing her knees pop and mentally reminding herself that she needed to get back into shape by stretching and working out for the Quidditch season. She went back to her room to hang up the photos on her wall. She used the muggle tape that her father had gotten from the store he was currently working at part-time. Her fingers picked up the second image and she smiled down at the scene.

In the moving picture, George and Fred were holding their wands up, sending sparks as they attacked each other, forming other colors and blending together in a beautiful show. Lee Jordan was cracking a joke which the others responded to laughing. Grace and Ophelia were holding hands as their eyes were transfixed on the sparks in the air. She smiled and brushed her finger on the moving image as it restarted again in a happy loop of memories. She taped that one as well right next to the picture of her and Grace laughing.

* * *

The night of the Quidditch match came fast and Ophelia was bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly waiting for her friend to scoop her up and take her to America. Her father was laughing at how excited she was from his spot on the couch as he read.

When the Floo grew large green flames she squealed as Grace ran out and hugged her. “I’m so excited!” They both squealed out at the same time.

The Floo brought another person. Mrs. Thorne was a beautiful woman with dark, tanned skin and beautiful brunette hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. It was no wonder Grace was obsessed with how she looked with a mother like that. She scanned the room and smiled at Ophelia. “I hope you enjoy your time, dear. Grace hasn’t stopped talking about the trip for the entire week.”

“That makes two of them.” Her father smiled as he put the book down and stood up with his hand stretched out for her. “Remus Lupin.”

“Penelope Thorne.” She smiled back at him. “I do hope it is okay that my husband is a muggle. Did Ophelia tell you?”

“Our household doesn’t care about those matters. The only thing Ophelia has been looking forward to is trying is cooking.” 

The visible sign of relief did not go unnoticed to Ophelia or Remus as the woman smiled brightly. “Well good, I hope that it doesn’t disappoint.” She turned her attention back at the Hufflepuff girls. “Alright, ladies. Ready to go?”

They nodded and said their goodbyes to her father before Flooing to the Thorne resident. They lived in a town-home that was in part of Plymouth. Grace excitedly showed her a tour of their house which was a mixture of muggle and wizarding items. When they got to Grace’s room after dinner the girls stayed up all night giggling and telling jokes or gossiping about boys that they think would be good kissers.

The next morning, it hit them the exhaustion from the night before as Mrs. Thorne prepared them to take the International Portkey to the city that the game would be held in. “Where are we traveling to?” Grace asked her mother as they eyed the rusty compass that was wrapped in a silk handkerchief.

“We are going to a wizarding part of Boston. It’s hidden from the eyes of the muggles. Come on, we want to get our seats and some snacks before the match!”

The girls touched the compass and were whisked away. Grace fell on her knees and threw up when they landed in the grassy area outside of the pitch. Ophelia who prided herself with traveling by Portkey often was rather dizzy and had to put her hands on her knees and focus on breathing so she also wouldn’t throw up. “Here take this.” An older man was standing near the entrance with potions in his hands. “Potion to help prevent Porktey travel sickness.”

Mrs. Thorne took the potion and handed some money over to the man in return. She gave it to the girls who drank the potion and began to feel better almost immediately. They walked into the stadium and were escorted to their box. Mrs. Thorne was hugging a woman with the same complexion but with a short bob hair cut. “Grace you remember you Aunt Tracey, right?”

Grace gave the woman a hug and then introduced her to Ophelia. It was hard to wrap her mind around the fact that there could be so many women in one family since Ophelia only knew her father who was also an only child. 

Once the game began, Grace pointed out her cousin who was a chaser for the Flitchburn Finches. She was amazon as she dove and tossed the quaffle to her other teammates with such fluid motions that it was hard to keep her eye on her. Ophelia leaned against the glass in awe and promised to herself that she would become as good of a quidditch player as these players on the field.

At the end of the match, the Finches won by only 10 points. It was a very exciting game. Her cousin came up to the box and talked to her family for a little while before saying her goodbyes saying that she had to join the team for the media interviews in the lobby. 

The two sisters were saying their goodbyes with watery hugs as Grace and Ophelia stuffed as many chocolate frogs into their pockets to take home with them. She was so happy that she was invited to this match and wanted to brag to the people who she knew loved Quidditch as much as her, Cedric and the twins. She couldn't’ wait to return to Hogwarts so she could do just that. 


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The Boy Who Lived

**Chapter Sixteen: The Boy Who Lived**

Ophelia gave her father a hug goodbye as he smiled at her. It was the night after a full-moon and she knew he was too tired to give her the full send off at the train. She was perfectly fine with that since it would now be the third time that she was off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She Floo-ed over to the Thorne resident where Grace was braiding Melody’s hair into two high pigtails that sat on the top of her head. Her little sister was in near tears asking Grace if she would still like her if she wasn’t in Hufflepuff. “We will only like you if you get us into the common rooms of whatever house you do get into, little Thorne.” Ophelia joked as she plopped down on the green velvet chair that was in the middle of their living room. “Grace and I have been in 2 out of the 4 and we’d like to make it into all four by the time we graduate.”

Melody’s eyes lit up. “You’ve been into another common room?”

Grace threw a bobby pin at Ophelia’s head. “Don’t give her any ideas! I was just telling her that it was perfectly fine whatever house she ended up in. Ophelia’s turn took about five minutes our first year for the hat to decide where she needed to be.”

She nodded, showing the younger girl that it was in fact true. “I thought that I wasn’t going to be in any of the houses!” She laughed as Grace finished up with her hair and their mother bustled into the room, looking frazzled but somehow still put together with a cherry red lipstick on her perfect lips. 

“Already, girls?” 

They all nodded and took a portkey to the outskirts of King’s Cross. They took their time getting to Platform 9 and ¾ to not draw attention to themselves by the muggles. Once they broke through the barrier, they went to look for their friends in the sea of students while their mother said her goodbyes before hurrying off to work. 

The smoke from the engine was drifting over the crowd as Ophelia saw the twins getting onto the train. “Fred, George!” She ran up and gave them hugs. 

The three were talking animatedly about their summers when they saw a young boy with black hair scattered in every direction trying repeatedly to get his trunk up onto the train compartment. “Want a hand?” George asked the young boy with a smile on his face.

“Yes, please!” The boy panted in response.

“Oi, Fred! C’mere and help me!”

The twins got the young boys large trunk tucked into the corner of the small compartment. The young boy with black hair and green eyes was sweaty from trying to get his trunk up and put away. He sighed with relief when he saw it was away and pushed his hair out of his eyes. “Thanks!”

“What’s that?” Fred said, pointing at the boy's forehead.

Ophelia leaned in and gasped seeing a lightning bolt scar in the center of the young boy’s forehead. “Blimey,” George exclaimed. “Are you--?”

“He is!” Fred bellowed. “Aren’t you?”

“Aren’t I what?” The boy asked with his eyebrows skewed in confusion as he glanced at the three third years in the compartment with him as they all gawked at the eleven year old.

“ _ Harry Potter _ .” chorused the twins. 

“Oh him,” Harry blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean… yes… I am Harry Potter.”

All of the older students were speechless. She was wondering if it was inappropriate to ask him if he could sign her copy of Hogwarts a History. They were sucked away by Mrs. Weasley called out for the twins. “Coming, Mum!” Fred called out and the three slinked out of the train compartment, trying not to stare. 

When they joined the Weasley family, Mrs. Weasley was rubbing at Ron’s nose with her handkerchief. “Mum-- gerogg!” Ron wiggled free from her grip as she looked down at him with a small smile.

“Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his noise?” Fred messed with his brother and ruffled his red hair to make it look as messy as Harry’s. 

“Shut up!” Ron snapped.

Percy appeared behind them already in his Hogwarts robes with his new Prefect badge pinned perfectly straight in the center of his Gryffindor tie. “Can’t stay long, Mother. I’m up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves--”

“Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?” Fred sneered. “You should have said something we had no idea!”

“Hang on…” George said with his finger up in the air like he was about to make a grand proclamation. “I think I remember him saying something about it…. Once…”

“Or twice--”

“A minute--”

“All summer--”

Percy grew red in the face as he narrowed his eyes at the twins who were making fun of him. “Oh, shut up.” He growled at them before he kissed Mrs. Weasley on the cheek and went to go join the Prefects on the train. 

“Now, you two-- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you’ve-- you’ve blown up a toilet or--” 

“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet.” George laughed.

“Great idea though, thanks, Mum.” Fred smiled and kissed his mothers cheek at the same time as George did on the other side. 

“ _ It’s not funny you two! _ And look out for Ron!” She looked at her youngest who wasn’t that much shorter than the twins.

“Don’t worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us.” Fred teased as he went to ruffle Ron’s hair again before he dodged it.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Weasley. I’ll look out for Ron.” Ophelia laughed and earned a tight embrace from the matriarch of the Weasley family as the boys bickered around her. 

“Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we met on the train?” Fred said with an animated sound in his voice as he bounced at a rapid pace on the balls of his feet. “You remember the boy with black hair that was near us in the station? He’s  _ Harry Potter!” _

Ginny let out a little squeal. “Oh, Mum can I go on the train and see him!”

“You’ve already seen him, Ginny. He’s not an animal at the Zoo that you go to observe. Oh dear… no wonder he was by himself. I forbid any of you to ask him about that night. I mean it!” She held up her finger and stared down every one of the students that were about to board the train and leave for Hogwarts. 

The Hogwarts Express let out a warning whistle that all of the students must board the train before they departed and Ginny began to ball. All of the boys and Ophelia began to comfort her and gave her promises to send her gifts back from Hogwarts as they climbed onto the train and stuck their hands out of the windows to wave as it pulled away, Ginny trying to keep up next to it before she fell back and waved. 

Ron said his goodbyes to his brothers and Ophelia as he crept into an open compartment. Lee ran past the twins and whispered something about dropping a tarantula in the middle of the train but he was going to tell Angelina and Grace about it first so they could document it with a camera. “Let’s tell Ron where we are going.” Ophelia suggested. “He’s a first year, he might want to see something exciting.”

“Hey, Ron!” The twins said in unison as they opened the door of the compartment that he had just slid into. 

“Listen, we’re going down the middle of the train-- Lee’s got a giant tarantula down there.” Fred said with a big smile.

“Right…” mumbled Ron.

“Harry, did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. This is Ron, our brother. This is Ophelia Lupin, she’s in Hufflepuff, our year. Anyways… see you later!” George smiled at the boys and Ophelia waved before they closed the compartment door behind them. 

“Holy Helga… did we just meet Harry Potter?” Ophelia asked the boys who seemed as starstruck as her before they went to join Lee and tell him just who exactly was on the Hogwarts Express with them.

* * *

The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement of the one and only,  _ Harry Potter _ being at Hogwarts. The first-years were currently lined up in front of the Sorting Hat that was singing his song to the school. When it was finished, everyone applauded as the hat bowed on top of the stool. 

Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. “When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted… Abbott, Hannah!”

A girl with blonde pigtails and wobbly knees sat on the stool. When she put the hat on it shouted out to the crowd, “HUFFLEPUFF!”

Ophelia stood up and cheered merrily with the rest of her housemates as the girl blushed and ran over to sit near her new house. They didn’t have much time to introduce themselves because Susan Bones was also sorted into their house. They cheered wildly for her as well. 

This continued going down the list of first years until the name everyone was waiting for was called. “Potter, Harry!”

The small boy with black-hair stepped forward as everyone began to whisper about what house he would be in. The sorting hat was placed on his head and everyone seemed to hold their breath. The decision was nearing a hatstall when the brim of the hat opened its mouth and called out, “GRYFFINDOR!”

“Damn.” Cedric said from besides Ophelia.

She eyed the boy running up to the loud table of Gryffindor’s and saw Percy Weasley shaking his hand vigorously. Fred and George were standing up on the benches and chanting “We’ve got Potter! We’ve got Potter!” Ophelia wished that there was already food on the table so she could throw something at the show-offs. 

The feast began after the last first-year was sorted, a Blaise Zabini who went to Slytherin. Ophelia was talking to Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones who were two first-years that had sat near her. The others were near the end of the table and she made a mental note to ask them about their lives in the common room at some point.

She kept glancing over at the Gryffindor table, which seemed to be something a lot of people were doing as they tried to take a glance at the Boy-Who-Lived. She had to ask the twins about more information on him since they were now housemates. Something told her that Harry Potter was going to need some friendly faces around the school and she vowed to be one of those friendly faces. 


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Fall of 1991

**Chapter Seventeen: Fall of 1991**

When Professor Sprout handed the Hufflepuff’s their schedules for this year, Ophelia scanned her time table with fierce determination. She knew that it would be cut throat this year to stay in the top of their class especially with Rodger Davies constantly trying to one up her. 

The Hufflepuffs had Charms and History of Magic with Ravenclaw, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Transfiguration with Slytherin, and Herbology, Potions and Astronomy with Gryffindor. Grace and Ophelia were also taking Divination and Muggle Studies. “I hope we get to study our natal charts in Divination.” Grace chimed in from her left as she put raspberry jam on a piece of toast.

“You can't honestly believe in that stuff.” Cedric scoffed from across the table. “I mean come on, Professor Trewlaney is kind of out there.”

“Let me get this straight, Diggory.” Grace dusted the crumbs of her fingers as she spoke. “You think that all of this is normal, the magic, flying broomsticks, all that stuff is normal but you draw the line at studying the stars and tarot cards?”

“Precisely.” He bit into a sausage link and laughed. “You believe in it?”

“It’s something that the muggles can study too, I do. They put horoscopes in their magazines. It is something fun to them. It’s something that I can talk to my dad about and he will somewhat understand what I’m saying. That’s also why I’m taking Muggle Studies so I can talk to him about that as well.” She set her shoulders and went back to eating.

“I think those are wonderful reasons to take those clases.” Ophelia rubbed her friends back before they finished breakfast and walked to their first class of the day, Charms with the Ravenclaws. She took a seat with Cedric, Grace, and Jacob and began to furiously copy down notes from Professor Flitwick.

After Charms, Ophelia and Grace said goodbye to the boys and went to their Muggle Studies class. She hated to admit, but this class Grace might be better at than her. Sure her father exposed her to muggle things but there was a lot about Muggle life that she had no idea about. She was shocked when she saw the Weasley twins in this class with them. “Hello, ladies.” Fred winked and sat behind them.

“Fancy seeing you two here. Didn’t know you were taking Muggle Studies.” George added.

“I suppose it shouldn’t be too shocking to see you boys studying this. I’m sure your father would be disappointed if you didn’t take it.” Ophelia smiled at them from behind her shoulder before turning around as the professor began the lesson. 

They had a short gap for lunch before they had to go off to Herbology and she spotted the famous Harry Potter in the Great Hall. Everywhere he went, it seemed that whispers followed him. “I feel so sorry for the boy. Try getting lost at Hogwarts while everyone is gawking at you.” Ophelia shook her head as she put a ham sandwich on her plate. 

“He seems pretty shy, honestly.” Fred said, putting food on his plate as well as they looked down the Gryffindor table at the boy who was sitting with his brother and a couple other first year Gryffindor boys. “I’m sure it’s shocking to realize you’re a celebrity.” 

The first week continued in the swirl of commotion that it always did and Ophelia was beginning to worry that the added electives were going to be too much for her as she tried to balance her packed schedule and studying time. If she was going to be on the quidditch team this year as well she would have to fit in practice time and it was all seeming very overwhelming. 

Her thoughts were interrupted about schoolwork one morning when a long, thin package carried by a herd of six screech owls landed in front of Harry Potter. The young boy was eyeing the parcel with interest. “That looks like a broomstick.” Cedric whispered in Ophelia’s ear as they both were eyeing the wrapped package in interest. 

The boy ran off with Ron with the parcel in their hands. “What’s he doing with a broomstick? He’s in his first year.” Ophelia responded.

“I dunno. Heard he caught a 50 foot dive at their flying lessons the other day.” Cedric shook his head. “There’s no way they’ll let him on the Quidditch team. He’s a first year.” 

She nodded her head in agreement. The Hufflepuff tryouts were this Saturday and she was anxious to prove that her hard work this summer was going to pay off and earn her a permanent spot on the team, not just on the reserve team like last year. 

Ophelia went the rest of the day, thinking of why the Harry Potter boy had a broomstick. At dinner, she told herself after the Halloween feast, she was going to ask the twins about it and see if Ron had mentioned something to them. At the feast, thousands of bats fluttered from the walls and ceilings while the candles and jack-o-lanterns floated high above the students in the enchanted ceiling. Ophelia was eating a pumpkin pasty when Professor Quirrel came sprinting into the Great Hall with his turban almost falling off of his head. “Troll! In the dungeons! Thought you ought to know…” after that, he fainted onto the stone floor of the Great Hall.

She wasn’t sure who started the screaming, but she knew that Grace and Cedric were grabbing on to her, not sure what to do or where to run and they were all panicking like everyone else in the Great Hall. It took a couple moments and several firecrackers from Dumbledore to get everyone's attention. “Prefects lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!”

Ophelia linked arms with Grace as her friend was trembling next to her as they followed the Prefects towards the kitchens. “I can’t believe a troll got into Hogwarts! What will happen?”

“Dumbledore will handle it.” Cedric assured her. “Let’s just try and get our minds off of it and play some exploding snap while we finish the feast, yea?” He held up the cards in his hand with a kind smile on his face as their group of friends found a spot in the corner where they had food already set up for them.

* * *

Following the excitement of a troll crashing the feast, it didn’t seem like as big of a deal to make the quidditch team as she was writing her father a letter. She frowned and shrugged knowing that he would want to know about the troll.

_ Dad, _

_ I hope you are doing well. _

_ Things are crazy at Hogwarts! There was a troll that somehow got into the dungeons on Halloween. Isn’t that crazy? _

_ I made the Hufflepuff quidditch team this year as a Chaser! Without the help of the captain last year, the other girl didn’t make it this year. I’m so happy and Cedric was so happy too!  _

_ Did you know that Harry Potter is here this year? It seems like the rules don’t apply to him because he has a Nimbus 2000 in his possession! I think that is so unfair since he is only a first-year.  _

_ Anyways, write soon! _

_ -O _

* * *

The first game of the Quidditch season was the upcoming Saturday for Gryffindor versus Slytherin. It was the Friday before and Ophelia and Grace were currently figuring out what they were going to wear to the match before Defense Against the Dark Arts began. She felt a wad of paper hit the back of her head and she turned around, picking the ball up from the floor and uncrinkling it to reveal a note.

_ I suggest Slytherin green. That would look hot on you two. -A.P and G.M. _

She let out a disgusted sound and turned around to stare menacingly at Pucey and Montague. “In your dreams, boys.”

Grace giggled from beside her as Professor Quirrel came stammering into the classroom for the students to clean off their desks for the pop quiz he was about to give. After DADA, Cedric came up to the girls and asked what their little thing with the Slytherin’s was about. Grace laughed again and told Cedric what the note said. His jaw clenched together tightly as he looked at the Slytherin boys who were walking in the opposite direction from the group. “Well that’s just completely inappropriate.”

“It’s okay, Ced. They were just messing with us.” Ophelia assured her friend as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

The next morning, the school was filled with the buzz of a rivalry game kicking off the season. The entire school seemed to have shown up for the game as they filled the stands. Ophelia held up her sign that her and Grace made the night before that said, “Weasley and Weasley are my heroes!” with a flying bludger that circled around the words before getting hit by a painted beater bat and starting the loop over again. 

“Is that Harry Potter?” Cedric demanded as the Gryffindor team entered the pitch.

“Those little assholes didn’t tell me!” Ophelia complained as she saw the twins find her sign and smile cheekily at her. 

The two teams mounted their brooms to begin the game. Once Madam Hooch gave a loud blast through her silver whistle, chaos began and Lee’s voice filled the stands. “And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor-- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too--”

“JORDAN!”

“Sorry, Professor. And she’s really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood’s, last year only a reserve-- back to Johnson and-- no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle. Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes-- Flint goes to score and -- no stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle-- that’s Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field, and -- OUCH that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger-- Quaffle taken by the Slytherins-- that’s Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goalposts, but he’s blocked by a second Bludger-- sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can’t tell which-- nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes-- she’s flying-- dodges a speeding Bludger-- the goalposts ahead-- come on, now Angelina-- Keeper Bletchley dives-- misses and GRYFFINDOR SCORES!”

“Yes, Angelina!” Ophelia cheered out as the rest of the stands who were supporting Gryffindor cheered for the red robes in the sky. 

The game continued and everyone held their breath as Adrian Pucey dropped the quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear. Harry Potter and Terrance Higgs were both diving towards the Snitch. Everyone held their breath and then-- WHAM!

“That’s not fair!” Cedric roared with other fans as Marcus Flint blocked Harry and his broom spun of course with the poor eleven-year old holding on for dear life. 

Lee was fuming in the announcers box. “So-- after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating-- oops sorry Professor, I mean… after that open and revolting foul… alright, sorry. I’ll be unbiased. After Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I’m sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble.”

“I hate when Slytherin cheats. It completely takes away the honor of Quidditch.” Cedric shook his head as he looked in through his binoculars at the action on the pitch. 

Once again, Harry Potter was speeding towards the ground when he clapped both of his hands over his mouth and he landed on the ground of the pitch. “Oh no, I think he’s going to vomit!” Ophelia winced at the second-hand embarrassment. 

Instead of throwing up, he coughed a couple of times and something gold fell into his hands.”Potter has caught the SNITCH! Gryffindor wins!”


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Christmas at Hogwarts

**Chapter Eighteen: Christmas at Hogwarts**

“I feel so bad that you’re stuck at Hogwarts by yourself for Christmas.” Grace frowned from her spot across from the other Hufflepuff girl in the library as they whispered in between their Divination homework. “I can ask my parents if you can come to America with us--”

“No, no. Grace. It’s fine. I won’t be totally alone. The Weasley’s told me they’re staying at Hogwarts for the holiday.” She smiled at her friend and continued to fill out her birth chart wheel, trying to figure out how the signs fit into the houses on the wheel.

“Well… you have to promise to at least attempt to snog Fred Weasley under some mistletoe, then.” She winked and dodged a smack from Ophelia.

“Did I hear my name?” Fred smiled as he sat down in the wooden seat next to Ophelia.

“No.” Ophelia said sternly as she turned back to finding where the Libra sun was supposed to go on her chart.

“I think I most definitely heard your name, Freddie.” George added as he plopped down next to Grace. “What were you two ladies talking about?”

“About Ophelia staying here all alone for Christmas. She was just telling me who was going to be staying here too so I don’t worry about her being lonely. You boys better take care of her. I may be a Hufflepuff but I can be scary.” 

The twins rolled their eyes at Grace’s empty threat and turned their attention towards Ophelia with smiles on their faces. “You’re staying at Hogwarts for Holiday?”

She nodded her head. “Grace is going to America to visit her cousins and the Diggories are going to France again so I have to stay here.”

“Excellent!” Fred cheered while glancing at the work she was doing. “Divination, ugh. You know that stuff is all made up, right?”

Grace huffed. “Sounds like something an Aries man would say.” The two girls giggled as the twins just exchanged confused looks, not even wanting to know what that meant. 

* * *

Christmas Day came quickly and Ophelia was awoken up to an empty dorm room but with a small pile of presents at the foot of her quilted bed. She began to tear through the packaging and smiled at the thoughtfulness of all of her friends and family. The Weasleys had gotten her a jumper again, this time not in Hufflepuff colors but in Gryffindor colors which Mrs. Weasley wrote a small note apologizing for but suggesting she could wear it to Quidditch matches to support the twins. She silently wondered if the boys had put in a request for the colors since she had nothing to wear during Gryffindor matches to show her support to her favorite Beaters.

The next gift was from Grace and the Thorne’s and was wrapped in a white wrapping paper with golden polk-a-dots all over with a large gold bow attached elegantly to the top of the small box. She carefully unwrapped it and gasped at the expensive gift. They had gotten her a wizarding camera and film. Grace’s handwriting was on the note that said:  _ Now you don’t have to use all my film! Just kidding. I know you really love pictures and I want to give you the gift of being able to capture any moment that passes you buy. Lots of love -G.T. and family _

When she went to the next gift she smiled at how Grace must’ve written to her father. When the bright red wrapping paper came undone it revealed that she was given a scrapbook and even more film for pictures. He wrote a letter responding to her last one and a Christmas card wishing her a lovely holiday. She frowned at the letter briefly when she saw that he was asking about Harry Potter and if the boy seemed to be doing well at Hogwarts and if he was making friends. Why would her father care about Harry Potter, a boy he has never met before? She brushed the thought away and tucked the cards into the scrapbook. 

Finally, Cedric and the Diggory’s gifted her with a pair of canary yellow, leather gloves with her initials engraved in black ink on the side. She smiled and smelled the scent of the Quidditch supply shop in Diagon Alley. They must’ve gone to get it done on a rush order before they left for France.

She pulled on her Weasley jumper over her hair and a pair of old jeans before running up to the Gryffindor tower and sat at the top step, waiting for the Weasley’s to emerge from the portrait of the Fat Lady. When they came out to go down for breakfast they exchanged Christmas greetings to one another. Ophelia smiled at the Harry Potter boy who was sporting a sweater with a knit H on the front. “You’re a Weasley now, you know.” She said to the boy as she poked his side.

“What?”

“Molly knits these for everyone she loves. Looks like you’re one of those lucky people.” She smiled at him as he blushed across his nose and pushed his glasses up on his face. 

“Looks like you’re one of those people too.” 

“Guess I am.” She smiled as she looked down at the maroon and gold sweater and affectionately messed with the stitchwork on the hem at the bottom of the jumper.

After breakfast, they all bundled up and met back outside in the courtyard where they were in a heated game of snowball fighting. Ophelia was laughing loudly as she took moments here and there to snap photos of herself with the Weasley’s and even Harry. She offered to take pictures of the boys as well and forced Ron and Harry to wrap their arms around each other and as she took the photo. Fred and George started pummeling the boys with snowballs once they saw the flash. They screamed before returning the ammunition. “Perfect.” Ophelia smiled to herself, excited to see the memory captured forever on film. 

After they were freezing and sopping wet from the snow, they went back inside. They all changed and the younger boys went into Gryffindor tower while the Twins and Ophelia roamed the castle, looking for any secret passageways that weren’t on the Marauder's Map which they had shown her last year before the Snake Prank. 

They went into the passageway that led you straight to Honeydukes and she left some money on the counter before they took handfuls of candy and some Instant Hot Chocolate cups that turned into liquid goodness when you snapped the top of the cup off. 

With their Honeydukes goods, they went into a secret room that they pulled Ophelia into after Potions during their first year. They sat on the abandoned desks and drank hot chocolate and ate candy until they felt sick. Ophelia was laughing at the impressions they were doing of all of the Professors. After they all laughed until they were crying, and had to stop to catch their breath, Ophelia remembered her Christmas present from Grace. 

“I need a picture with you boys. We should send it to your Mum to show her the jumpers!”

She set the camera up against one of the desks and went to stand by the twins as the timer went off and the flash popped into view. Fred and George, silently nodded, and lifted Ophelia into their arms, causing her to let out a squeal of laughter and she began to protest for them to put her down but instead they just smiled at the camera. “This will look more believable! We wouldn’t just stand there and behave!”

Ophelia rolled her eyes at them and when the flash went off again, signalling the end of the capturing process, they put her down with a few chuckles. “You are so small, Lupin. Hope you don’t get knocked off your broomstick when you play Gryffindor.” Fred joked and dodged a swat from Ophelia.

“You better just watch out. We have a lot of potential this year.” She stuck her tongue out as they all began to walk back to the common rooms, exhausted from the long day of celebrating.

“I’m shaking in my shoes.” George joked.

“Goodnight boys.” She rolled her eyes as she walked towards the Kitchen.

“Goodnight, O!” They chorused in perfect unison as they turned the corner, heading up towards the Gryffindor tower.


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Slytherin Vs. Hufflepuff

**Chapter Nineteen: Slytherin Vs. Hufflepuff**

Ophelia chewed on her nails out of anticipation as Cedric and Heidi Macavoy talked to her about the upcoming match on Saturday. She wanted to throw up thinking of the pressure to beat Slytherin. Thankfully, she wasn’t a Seeker. She didn’t think she could handle the pressure that was constantly put on Cedric over catching the Snitch and ending the game. Heidi said her goodbyes, as she rushed off to go to class with the other Hufflepuff 4th years and Cedric opened the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class for Ophelia. She muttered a thanks as they went to sit down near Grace and Jacob. 

“Oi, Lupin!” Terrance Higgs called from behind her.

“Don’t let them bother you.” Cedric whispered as she turned around to stare at the Slytherin boys who were sitting on the desks behind them.

“Fancy a bet for the game?” He looked at her with a taunting glint in his pale eyes. “Say if Slytherin wins you have to snog one of us.”

“I’d rather die, but thanks for the offer.” She responded in the most sarcastic tone she could manage with her nerves running as high. 

Cedric turned around and stared at the boys. “It’s not very fair to mess with your opponents before the match. I would suggest you try winning the right and just way.”

“The Hufflepuff way?” Pucey drawled as he doodled on a piece of parchment with his hand covering it so that the other students couldn’t see. “I’ll pass.”

The Hufflepuff’s turned around and tried to block out the kissing noses coming from behind them. Cedric put his hand over hers to calm her down since it was currently shaking. She smiled up at him which earned them a wolf-whistle from the boys. A paper crane flew onto their desk and Ophelia bit down on her cheek hard knowing that Pucey made these.

She opened the paper crane and stared in disgust at the stick figure that was charmed to move on the parchment. It depicted Cedric falling of his broom and Hufflepuff losing while stick figure Ophelia kissed a boy in slytherin robes. “Don’t--” Cedric began but it was too late.

Ophelia had crumbled up the paper and turned around, chucking it at the boys. “I don’t get why you boys have to be such asses all the time but it’s getting really fucking annoying!”

“Miss… Miss.. L-L-Lupin. 5 p-p-points from H-Hu-Hufflepuff.” Professor Quirrel stammered with a shocked look on his face at one of his best students cursing in his classroom. 

“Sorry, Professor.” She sunk down in her wooden chair, defeated while the kissing noises resumed from behind them.

“Take it out on the field.” Cedric whispered into her ear.

* * *

Ophelia kept messing with the black button at the top of her robe as they were getting ready to walk onto the pitch as a team. She had let Grace braid her hair with bright, canary yellow ribbon this morning for the game. Cedric’s advice kept ringing in her ear, “ _ Take it out on the field _ ” 

She didn’t care if she fouled. She wanted to hit Adrian Pucey and Terrance Higgs. Thankfully, Pucey was a chaser so he could look like an accident. If she hit Higgs, it would definitely be seen as unsportsmanlike conduct since he was the Slytherin Seeker. “Ready, O?” Cedric asked her as he nudged her side, sending shivers of nerves with the touch.

“Ready as I’ll ever be I suppose.”

He smiled down at her as the two teams entered the center of the pitch were Madam Hooch was standing next to a broom and the trunk that held all of the supplies for the game. “I want a nice and clean game from all of you.  _ All of you _ .” She emphasized the second time and stared hard at Marcus Flint who was sneering at the Hufflepuff players. “On my whistle…”

Everyone mounted their brooms and pushed off hard once the whistle rang through the pitch. Ophelia dove for the tossed Quaffle and took possession of it. She heard Lee commentating at a fast pitch as the action was unfolding on the pitch.

“Ophelia Lupin takes the Quaffle! First year on the team for her since last year she was a reserve player, excellent talent showing-- tosses the quaffle to Heidi Macavoy who dives underneath Marcus Flint-- tosses the quaffle back to Lupin who OUCH! Adrian Pucey blocks Lupin and almost knocks her off the broom. Slytherin takes possession-- Pucey tosses to Flint who aims and BLOCKED by Keeper Herbert Fleet!”

The crowd began to cheer and Ophelia caught a glance of the twins holding up a huge sign that flashes colors and said “All hail Queen of the Hufflepuffs #2 Lupin!” She breathed in some courage and went flying down the pitch to be open for the quaffle if needed. When Malcom Preece tried throwing the Quaffle at her, Adrian Pucey was there again, slamming into her broom. “Foul!” Madam Hooch shouted. “I warned you Slytherins, I thought the first time was an accident but you are on thin ice, Pucey.”

He sneered at the older witch as she handed the quaffle to Ophelia to take her shot. She was aiming for the left hoop to trick the Slytherin Keeper and thankfully it worked. He raced his broom to guard the right hoop when she sent the quaffle wailing through the right one.

“10-0 Hufflepuff!” Lee shouted through the magical speakers that boomed throughout the pitch. 

The game continued in this rough way with Slytherin cheating every time they could until the score was 90-30 Hufflepuff lead when Terrance Higgs began to dive towards a shiny bit of gold. Everyone seemed to forget what they were doing as they watched the two seekers dive. Unfortunately for the Hufflepuffs, Cedric didn’t see the Snitch until Terrance Higgs was already 20 feet below him. Slytherin caught the snitch ending the game with a score of 180-90.

The teams landed on the pitch to shake the other team's hands. Pucey and Higgs were laughing at the others and talking loudly to each other. “Man, I wonder if Ophelia is going to take the bite and snog one of us.”

“Well she did make the bet.” Pucey agreed sneering at the team.

“I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be loyal and honest. If she doesn’t, I think she’s not a real Hufflepuff at all.” Higgs agreed. 

Cedric and Ophelia froze in front of them, forgetting to shake their hands. Heidi was tugging on Ophelia’s robes to get her to walk away. “They’re not worth it!” She heard the older Hufflepuff girl beg. 

Her shoulders sagged as she realized that Heidi was right. She went to walk away when Cedric grabbed a hold of her elbow. “What?” She asked him.

Instead of saying anything, he leant down and crushed his lips against hers. The other Hufflepuff players began to wolf-whistle and cheer for the two friends as Ophelia returned the kiss, very surprised with all of this going on. She almost forgot that she was in the middle of the Quidditch pitch until Madam Hooch shooed them away saying to take it to their common room. When the two pulled apart, her stomach dropped when she saw Cedric turn to Pucey and Higgs. “Ophelia is too good for either of you. So stop trying to make it happen.”

The Hufflepuff team went to change back into their school robes and Ophelia was changing in a daze. What the hell just happened.  _ What the bloody hell just happened? _

She was still so lost and confused when she left the changing room and began to walk up to the castle. “Ophelia!” Grace called out and caught up to her friend. “I didn’t know you liked Cedric! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I… I didn’t know I liked Cedric either.” She mumbled out.

“Wait… he didn’t ask you or warn you that he was interested before he kissed you?” Grace raised her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like Cedric at all.”

“I know…” She didn’t finish her sentence when Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan caught up with them.

“Thanks for making the end of the game exciting to announce, Lupin!” Jordan exclaimed as he dodged a wack from Angelina.

“Don’t let him bother you. I can’t believe you and Cedric!” Angelina’s eyes got bright with excitement. “When did this happen?”

“It’s not happening.” Ophelia tugged at the bottom of one of her braids and looked at the confused faces. “Pucey and Higgs have been taunting me about snogging one of them if Slytherin won, which obviously I didn’t except the dare because that would’ve been bloody stupid. Anyways, at the end of the match when we were shaking hands, the others kept taunting me and Heidi tried pulling us away but Cedric pulled me into kiss him. I thought it was nice but then…” She sighed and looked at her feet, embarrassed to be speaking about her first kiss like this, “Cedric turned to them and said , ’Ophelia is too good for either of you. So stop trying to make it happen.”

Grace raised her perfectly plucked brunette eyebrows in shock. “He did?” She crossed her arms over her Hufflepuff sweatshirt and turned back toward the pitch. “Go back inside. I have to talk to Cedric.”

She waved her Gryffindor friends off when they asked if she wanted to talk to someone and went to the Hufflepuff common room. All she wanted to do was take a shower, and forget that it all happened. Not only did she have her first kiss in front of basically the entire school, she didn’t want to kiss Cedric. Sure, he was her best friend and he was handsome but she didn’t want to kiss him at that moment. 

Ophelia turned the water in the Hufflepuff showers to as hot as possible and allowed the scorching water to turn her skin bright pink. She scruffed her face vigorously and tried to get the taunting faces of Pucey and Higgs out of her mind and the look of Cedric before he leaned down and kissed her. All she wanted to do was for the world to disappear. 

When she got out of the shower, she got changed into her Hufflepuff jumper and a pair of black jeans before sneaking out from her dorm and into the common room. Cedric was sitting at a small table with Grace and Jacob. He leaped out of his seat when he saw Ophelia with a pleading look on his face. “Can we talk, O?”

Her blue eyes met his and she bit her trembling lip, forcing herself not to explode. “I just need some time to think about what happened if that’s okay. I just want to go down to the Great Hall and grab some food.”

“I’ll go with you.” He suggested, still in his sweaty clothes he wore down to the pitch that morning.

“No. I just want to be alone right now.” She squeezed past her friends who were calling out after her and left to go into the Great Hall.

She sat down at the Hufflepuff table and rubbed her eyelids until she saw funny shapes appear in the darkness. What the hell had happened today? Sure Cedric got upset over quidditch matches but this was unlike anything she had ever seen. This wasn’t like him at all to go and kiss her without first seeing if it was alright. This is the same boy who refused to even pick lint off of her robe without asking first if it was okay that he was touching her in their first year. The same boy whose father instilled on him the importance of being gentlemen. The same Hufflepuff boy who was always preaching about playing by the rules. “Care for some company?”

“Go away, Pucey.” Ophelia snarled as the Slytherin boy sat next to her with a large smirk on his face. “I mean it, leave me alone.”

“Oh come on. Just because you and your boyfriends are fighting doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me.” He laughed and picked up an apple off of a golden platter that was in front of them before biting into it. “Where is the man of the hour?”

“Pucey, go away!” She slammed the palms of her hand onto the wood of the Hufflepuff table and turned to face him. “I mean it, go!”

Adrian opened up his mouth to say something again when a gruff voice came from the other side of Ophelia. “I think she said to go, mate.” One of the Weasley twins huffed out as the other twin sat on the other side of Adrian and added. “Yea, I think it’s best you return to your other snakes.”

The Slytherin boy sighed and turned to Ophelia. “Catch ya in Defense Against the Dark Arts on Monday I suppose since we can’t be civil and talk.”

Ophelia rested her forehead against the wood and sighed. “Thank you boys for helping me. Today is the worst.”

George nudged her. “Oh chin up, Lupin. Can’t be that bad… the Seeker himself gave you a kiss. You should be elated. Haven’t you fancied Cedric?”

“No. That’s the problem. I didn’t realize I was giving off that I fancied him. I only care for him as a friend, like a brother. I thought he understood. I guess not.” The tears were filling her eyes at the thought of losing one of her close friends over this. “I don’t know how he felt, I’m not even sure if he kissed me for the right reason or not.”

“Yea… Angie and Lee filled us in. Sorry about all that.” Fred said sincerely. “If you want, I can punch Cedric and Adrian for you. I’ve been dying to punch someone today.” His smile wasn’t matching his eyes that were darkened and upset. 

“Rough day?” She turned her head so her cheek was on the wood instead of her forehead and looked up at him from her spot on the table. 

“You could say that.” He choked out before distracting himself by pouring a glass of water for the both of them. “Crying makes you dehydrated, drink.”

She reluctantly brought the glass up to her lips and took a few tentative sips from the cup. “Thank you. I don’t know what I would do without you guys looking out after me.” 

“Still being forced to listen to Pucey.” George said with a chuckle.

She laughed at his joke and forced herself to eat a few bites of food. The rest of dinner lasted like this with the twins getting her to smile or laugh while she slowly drank her entire glass of water and ate an entire plate of food. “I suppose it’s time to face the music, now.” Ophelia got up and sighed. “Wish me luck.”

“Ophelia!” Fred called out as she started to walk away from the table. “The offer still stands if you need me to punch him.” She rolled her eyes as he gave her a wink and a look of emotion that she couldn’t quite place crossed his freckled face. 

Boys couldn’t be any more challenging to understand, she thought as she marched towards the Hufflepuff common room, ready to have the most difficult conversation of her young life. 


	20. Chapter Twenty: Boggarts

**Chapter Twenty: Boggarts**

“Ophelia!” Cedric called from his spot on a fuzzy, black ottoman in front of the fire that was slowly fading as the night grew on. “I’m so sorry, please, please don’t be mad.” He grabbed both of her hands in his and looked down at her pleadingly with his pale eyes.

“Ced… I’m just really disappointed. Why on Earth would you do that?” Her eyebrows raised in confusion in the middle and in the corner of her eye, she saw Grace and Jacob get up from the couch and leave them in privacy. They must’ve been talking to Cedric as he was waiting for her. 

He bit his lip and looked into the flames, the embers making lights dance in his eyes. “I just can’t stand the way they talk to you and me. I got wrapped up in my emotions and I was so angry and I just wanted to prove to them that you didn’t like them. I also might have mis-read some things…” His face began to turn a bright pink as he looked down at his black shoes. “I thought you liked the kiss. I know… I did.”

“If I’m being honest, Ced. I don’t know what to think of the kiss because I was so taken off guard. Don’t you think we are a bit young to be snogging infront of Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall? I’m sure Herbology and Transfiguration will be fun, answering questions knowing that they’ve seen your tongue go down my throat.” She snapped and felt a little pleasure in watching him wince at her harsh words. 

“I’m so sorry, O. I was so fucking stupid.”

“Yes. That we can agree on.”

“Ophelia, please. Let me finish.” She huffed out as he pleaded with her, wishing she could cross her arms in front of her chest but her hands were still trapped in his grip. “Let me make this up with you. I’ll do anything.”

“First of all, less tongue the next time you kiss any girl.” He blushed and closed his pale eyes, from embarrassment before she continued. “Second of all, how about you ask me what I think before you try a huge public display of affection? That was my first kiss and I wasn’t really expecting it.”

“Well that makes two of us.” He whispered under his breath.

“Come, again?”

“It was my first kiss, too.” Cedric blushed again and let go of her hands. “I’m sorry. It shouldn’t have happened. If I could take it back, I would.”

“Go on with Jacob. I’m sure you are both starving. I think I saw him slip out with Grace to go to the Great Hall. I’ll be fine.” She pushed him towards the entrance way of the Hufflepuff common room and he looked back and smiled sadly at her.

“I really am sorry, Ophelia. That shouldn’t have been how our first kiss went.” With that he disappeared and she was effectively frozen in place standing in the entranceway.

* * *

“Wait a minute. What exactly did he say, again? I need to hear it again to process it.” Grace asked her for the millionth time as they held their books close to their chest and walked through the corridors to go to Muggle Studies. 

“He said,  _ I really am sorry, Ophelia. That shouldn’t have been how our first kiss went. _ Like what the fuck does that even mean?” She threw her head back and felt her curls bounce behind her. “Why did he have to go and mess everything up?”

Her Hufflepuff friend gave her a small smile as they walked up to their desks and put their books down. “I think boys are stupid and we should just avoid them at all costs.” Grace sniffed as she took out a muggle nail file and began to go at her fingernails.

“Hopefully you don’t include us into that statement.” Fred said as he sat on Ophelia’s desk. “Hello, ladies.”

“No, Weasleys are for sure included in that statement. Ronald made my poor sister, Melody, cry the other day in the library. Dunno what for, but I’m sure he’s in the wrong.” Grace didn’t even look up as she retold the story of her Ravenclaw younger sister.

“Well, he’s a git.” George said simply as he plopped in his own desk behind them. “Doesn’t mean that we are gits.”

“Yea we got Pucey to leave Ophelia alone the other day when she was upset in the Great Hall.” Fred said.

“Pucey was bothering you?” Grace’s eyes connected with Ophelia’s in an accusing manner. “You didn’t tell me that.”  
“A lot has been going on. I’m a bit fucked up in the head right now.” She sighed and rubbed her temples, trying to get the new headache that was approaching to stay at bay. “I don’t even think I want to go to Hogsmeade next trip. I'm just so upset and confused.”

Fred grabbed a hold of her shoulder. “Not go to Hogsmeade? That’s a crime! We’ll make sure you have a good time at Hogsmeade. Spend the day with us so you don’t have to see Diggory.”

Ophelia looked up at her friend. “You’d do that? Won’t Lee be upset that a girl is crashing your  _ boys trip _ as he called it last time.”

“Lee will get over it.” Fred waved the fret away in the air as if it didn’t even matter. “Promise me, you’ll go to Hogsmeade. You need to enjoy it. Besides this will be the first trip that you have your camera and you wanted to take pictures of it to show your dad.”

Damn it, he was right. She had been raving about taking a picture of her drinking a foamy butter beer at the Three Broomsticks, eating candy outside of Honeydukes, and even just posing and being goofy with her friends. “Fine. But I’m going to turn around and go back to the castle if anyone bothers me. I just need a mental break.”

“Deal!” Fred beamed and jumped off of her desk as the professor walked in, going over to his own seat. “We will meet you by the entrance of Hogwarts so we can walk to Hogsmeade together.”

Grace had put her nail file away and was furiously writing down on a scratch piece of parchment. Ophelia was ignoring her friend, trying to focus on the lecture of the employment process for muggles when the parchment was shoved under her elbow.

The girl opened the folded parchment and looked at Grace’s loopy handwriting. ‘ _ Oh Godric! Is Fred Weasley taking you on a freakin DATE?! I could die of excitement.’ _

Ophelia rolled her eyes and glanced up to make sure she wouldn’t get caught. ‘ _ It’s not a date you idiot. Lee and George are going to be there too.’ _

Grace rebutted with, ‘ _ George doesn’t count because they’re always together and Lee might abandon ship once he finds out a girl is there.’ _

_ ‘It is not a date. Fred doesn’t like me like that. End of story.’ _

_ ‘But you like him like that… don’t you?’ _

_ ‘I’m not talking about this.’ _

_ ‘We aren’t talking, we are writing, there's a difference.’ _

Ophelia scoffed and shoved the parchment into her robe pocket. “I’m done talking and writing about it.” She whispered to her friend who simply giggled in response. 

“What exactly is so funny about social security cards, Miss. Thorne?”

“Oh, nothing sir. I was just giggling about how often my dad loses his!” Grace recovered for them quickly as the Muggle Studies professor considered this and added it to his note.

“That is an excellent point, I’ll talk about the process of getting a new one that muggles have to do occasionally. 2 points for Hufflepuff for the great lesson idea.”

Later that day in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ophelia and Grace were talking about what she should wear on Saturday. “You have to look like you tried but you didn’t at the same time. I can do your makeup for you! Just a little.”

“What’s Ophelia getting all dressed up for?” Cedric asked as him and Jacob sauntered over to their desk and put their books down.

“Hogsmeade.” Ophelia said.

“Oh that’s right, the trip is this weekend isn’t it?” Cedric beamed and turned to Jacob talking about how they had to go into the Quidditch supply store to look at the new kits that they had come out with to take care of your broomstick. 

“Fancy meeting up with us at Hogsmeade?” Adrian Pucey called from the back of the classroom as he winked at Grace and Ophelia.

“Ugh, you wish you pigs.” Grace stuck her tongue out at the boys and sat down so her back was to them. Ophelia followed suit and did the same, trying to ignore the feeling of their eyes on the back of her head. What the hell did they think of the kiss on the quidditch pitch?

She didn’t have time to think as Professor Quirrel came in stuttering. “Okay, c-c-class we are going to do live demonstrations today about dealing with a boggart with the r-r-r-ridikulous charm. Alright, line up please in an orderly f-f-f-fashion.”

Everyone stood up and went to stand in line in front of an old desk that had a padlock on the front and it jumped occasionally with the Boggart trying to escape. Professor Quirrel was telling people if they chose not to participate that was fine but if you did do the live demonstration, your house would earn 1 point per person. At this notion, the Slytherins were beginning to harass their classmates who were more reluctant and pulled them in line so that they could get ahead in the House Cup since Hufflepuff was in second at this point. 

Cassius Warrington from Slytherin was first in line and when Professor Quirrell took the lock off of the old desk. The Boggart took the form of a giant cliff and then it was showing the image of the ground coming fast into view, falling or heights must’ve been his fear. “RIDIKULOUS!” The boy called out and the cliff turned into a slide.

Graham Montague was next in line and the boggart took the form of a swarm of wasps going to attack him. He used the charm and turned them into a bunch of butterflies that were flapping their wings happily in a rainbow of colors.

Cedric was after Graham and he was trembling slightly when he got into the front. He straightened his canary yellow trimmed robe and looked determined at the Boggart. It spun around quickly as it transitioned and it turned into his father. Ophelia was quite confused until the Boggart opened up his mouth and the fake Amos Diggory was telling his son that he was so disappointed that his son cheated on his exams and was a disgrace to both the Diggory and the Hufflepuff name. Cedric waved his wand, and his father turned into himself but now with a bright purple hair style and he was on roller skates that he couldn’t control and kept falling down.

Ophelia stepped up and wasn’t sure what the Boggart would turn into. She closed her eyes and heard a gasp from behind her. When she opened up her blue eyes, she saw a full grown werewolf in front of her, baring his teeth at her but a human voice came out saying, “You can’t be safe from me forever!” It was her fathers voice. She gulped and waved her wand before turning the werewolf into a small golden retriever puppy. 

She got in the back of the line and crouched down so that she was close to sitting on the ground. Cedric gave her a small pat on the back, and Ophelia had to physically restrain herself from flinching. He knew what her father’s voice sounded like as did Grace. She prayed that they couldn’t put two and two together and solve the equation that her father was a werewolf. She gulped down the bile that was building in the back of her throat and worked on the anxiety breathing technique her father taught her when she was younger.

_ Count to 4 in… _

_ Hold for 4… _

_ Out for 4… _

She was repeating this, trying not to think about the Boggart and her peers' reactions to her fear. What pained her the most was that she could not even turn to her father about this because he would be greatly upset about it. She closed her eyes, and just waited for the live demonstrations to be over so Professor Quirrel could banish the Boggart back into the desk. 

* * *

“Miss. Lupin. Can I have a word with you in my office?” Professor McGonagall asked before she could leave Transfiguration with her friends. 

“I’ll catch up with you guys at the library!” Ophelia smiled at Grace before the Hufflepuffs turned and walked out of the classroom. She then turned her attention to her professor. “Is everything okay, Professor?”

“I was hoping you could tell me that. But I think this conversation would be best had over a cup of tea and a nice warm biscuit.” The Professor offered her a rare smile and led her to her office. 

Ophelia sat down in one of the wooden chairs that sat in front of Professor McGonagal’s organized oak desk and was still amazed at all of the pictures of students that hung around her office. The older witch placed a cup of steaming tea in her hand and went to sit next to her in the othe wooden chair. “I was told by some rumors about what your boggart was during Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was just asking how you are doing.”

“Oh… I’m fine. Boggarts are quite scary.” She took a sip of her tea and tried to push the image out of her head of the werewolf fangs that were bared towards her.

“You know your father was in my house when he was at Hogwarts. He had to have special arrangements when he was here.” She paused, letting the words sink into the Hufflepuff girl. When Ophelia didn’t budge, because she didn’t want to out her father unless Professor McGonagall said the words first, the Professor went on. “I had to take him every month with Madam Pomfrey so he could… transform.”

Ophelia gulped. “I wasn’t aware of that.”

“I figured as such. I just wanted you to know dear that you can always talk to me.”

With the lifeline of someone to talk to, she felt the words fall to the tip of her tongue. “My Boggart… What was more disturbing than the werewolf itself was that it had my father’s voice and it spoke to me. It said I couldn’t be safe from him forever. I know that is something my father worries about which is why he sends me away each month. I’m just… embarrassed that it’s my fear. Other people aren’t afraid of their parents. It makes me sound like a terrible and ungrateful daughter.” She wiped away a tear that spilled over her lashes. 

“That is nothing to be ashamed of, my dear. You are a brave and brilliant young girl. I’m sure your father is aware that what he turns into would be something that you worry about and fear. It’s only natural. Which is why werewolves have such a dangerous reputation in the wizarding world.” Professor McGonagall put her lips into a tight line. “I want you to know that you have a safe space to talk about it, just like Remus did when he was a student in this castle.”

Ophelia smiled at her professors and let out another tear drop from her eye. “Thank you, Professor. I don’t think I can really articulate how much this means to me.”

“Don’t worry, darling. Anytime.”


	21. Chapter Twenty-One: Hogsmeade

**Chapter Twenty-One: Hogsmeade**

When her feet carried her to the entrance of the castle, she was greeted by two smiling twins and one frowning Lee Jordan. He shook his head and as her stomach began tightening with nerves he burst into a huge laugh, “I can’t keep the charade going, mates.” He wrapped his arms around Ophelia. “Just look at her! She was so scared I was angry.”

“You absolute, git!” She smacked her hand on her friend's chest.

The three Gryffindor’s laughed. “We had to tell Lee how you were nervous that he would be mad about you coming along to Hogsmeade.” Fred said through laughs.

“It was his idea, we knew he wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face once you had those Lupin, puppy dog eyes.” George added.

“You all are on my shit list. I was going to be looking for your birthday presents on this trip, but I think I’m going to skip it altogether this year. Your birthdays are canceled.” She jabbed the twins Weasley jumpers square in the chest. “Now, come on. Where to first?”

“Zonko’s.” The three of them said in perfect unison. 

They followed the herd of Hogwarts students into the wizarding village. With the snow melted away from the cottage tops and shops, it looked more like stepping back in time than stepping into a Christmas card which is how the village looked like in their last visit. They went down High Street and walked into the joke shop that Lee and the twins frequented. The shelves were filled with Dungbombs, Hiccough Sweets, Nose-Biting Teacups, and so many more products. The boys each loaded up their pockets with as many products as they could afford before saying goodbye to the owner’s and moving onto the next stop in their day. 

As Fred held the door open to Honeydukes for Ophelia she nearly melted with the amazing smell of the sweet shop. The shelves were filled with the most mouth-watering sweets you could imagine. She grabbed a basket and filled it with honey-colored toffees, Every Flavour Beans, Fizzing Whizzbees, Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum, Sugar Quills, Fudge Flies, and a huge bar of Honeyduke’s chocolate covered nougat that she knew was her father’s favorite. After she purchased the sweets, and snuck a few chocolate frogs for the twins who had already spent all of their money at Zonko’s, they walked outside into the street to eat some of their sweets. 

Ophelia was trying to balance her camera on a ledge when a passing Ravenclaw offered to take their picture for them. She beamed at the offer. They stood in front of the Honeyduke sign and each bit into their treats and the joy on their face was a combination of the company and the amazing sweets that were now on their tongues. 

After this, they decided they wanted to sit down since they had been on their feet all day. Ophelia ducked into Three Broomsticks with the boys. Fred and Lee went to go get a corner booth table for them while George and Ophelia went up to the bar. They waited their turn while Madam Rosmerta was handing out orders to all of the students who were waiting to order gillywaters, Butterbeer, and cherry syrup sodas. 

“How you feeling, Lupin?” George asked as they waited up at the bar.

“I’m alright. It’s good to get away for the Weekend. You boys were right. I needed this.”

“Well Freddie would’ve gotten upset if you didn’t come to Hogsmeade with us so I’m glad you went.” His twin smiled and had a look in his eyes of a secret.

“Thanks, George. I knew you didn’t like me, you git.” She laughed as she handed some money over the counter to Madam Rosmerta who was going to get four Butterbeers for them.

“No… it’s not that. You know you’re one of my good friends.” He rolled his brown eyes and a smirk went on his freckled face again. “You’re just really popular, what can I say!”

She now rolled her eyes and took a hold of two of the four Butterbeers while George grabbed the others on the counter. “Boys are ridiculous and impossible.” She muttered to him as they sat the foamy, pewter tankards down onto the wooden table. 

Fred scooted over on the booth so that she could slide in next to him. “What are you lot talking about?” He raised an eyebrow at his twin.

“Just about how amazing Ophelia is, of course!” George smirked and took a long drag from his drink. “I still can’t get over how you stand up to the Slytherin’s and don’t get jinxed in the process. I wish I had your looks so I could mess with Higgs and Pucey like that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I think it’s more of a Hufflepuff thing than anything. They’re not as hard on our house for whatever reason.” Ophelia went to lift her Butterbeer to her mouth but remembered something. “Oi, Lee could you take a picture of Fred and I and then I’ll take one of you and George? I wanted pictures here too.”

“I know you just want to frame me and Georgie to kiss the picture at night, you don’t have to come up with an excuse.” Lee winked as he took her camera.

“You’re a git.” She giggled.

“Let’s wrap our elbows around each other as we drink our Butterbeer like in those muggle films you showed George and I!” Fred’s eyes lit up with being the center of attention and Ophelia giggled trying to follow his lead.

Lee flashed the camera and the light lit up showing that they loop had begun. Fred and Ophelia were wrapping their elbows around and they took drags from their Butterbeers. “Oh no!” she had spilled Butterbeer down her chin and began to laugh loudly at the foamy mess. Fred began to laugh too and grabbed a bunch of napkins to help her wipe off her chin. The two began laughing as Ophelia pointed out that Fred had a foamy mustache of his own to take care of which he began to wipe off when the flash went off again, showing the loop was done. 

“Geez, you should give this to Madam Rosmerta to advertise.” George laughed as the two blushed from the other side of the booth.

“Oh shove off and smile for the camera!” She took the silver contraption and aimed it towards the two Gryffindors.

She clicked the camera into action and Lee and George clinked their pewter cups high into the air, sending Butterbeer pouring slightly from the top before they began to drink the foamy beverages. “Perfect!” Ophelia smiled. “Thanks for putting up with my project.”

“We’d do anything for you, O. You should know that.” Fred joked with her as he messed with her hair like he used to do so often when they were in their first year. 

“Well… isn’t this cute.” Graham Montague sneered as he carried a Butterbeer from the bar to a table that was a few feet away from their booth. “Just Ophelia… I thought you were with Diggory. Did you already break the poor kid’s heart?”

The Slytherin’s cackled at his joke. “Does that mean you’re available once again?” Pucey wiggled his eyebrow. “Because I know for sure that I would like to snog you on the Quidditch pitch like Diggory.”

“Shut up, Pucey.” Ophelia grumbled, trying to ignore the boys.

“Yea, watch your mouth Pucey. Leave her the fuck alone.” Fred called from over her head.

“Oh yea, Weasel? What are you going to do about it?” Pucey taunted him.

“Fred… don’t do anything. It’s not worth it!” Ophelia put her hands against his chest as he tried to get up from his spot in the booth. She was so thankful that she was sitting on the outside and not Fred. 

“Yea, Weasel… it’s not worth it. You wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for anything you broke in this Pub anyways.” Terrance Higgs sneered from his seat next to Adrian Pucey. The two Slytherin’s were laughing.

Ophelia turned her head to the Slytherin boys. “Why do you all have to be such assholes all the time! This is why no one likes Slytherin.” Heat was moving up her neck into her cheeks from anger and embarrassment of a few of the closer tables now turning around to watch what was going on. She tried to ignore the stares and stay strong.

“Ooo… I like making you blush, Lupin.” Pucey winked his dark eyes towards her. He wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a wicked smirk. “Maybe I can do that more often if you come down to the Slytherin common room sometime.”

With that, Fred was jumping over the back of the wooden booth and was marching over to the table of Slytherin’s. Once Fred moved, George followed, not letting his twin go into a fight alone. Instead of pulling out his wand, Fred cranked his arm back and punched Pucey square in the face and a sickening crunching sound filled the table.

At the same moment, Montague tried pulling his wand out but Lee was quick to action and shot him with “ _ Locomotor Wibbly”  _ which caused his legs to collapse and Lee kicked his opponent's wand away from his hands as Graham was incapable of moving his lower half to reach for it. George cast “ _ Titilando _ ” which caused Higgs to cause him to double over with laughter as he was shot with the Tickling Hex and purple hands were tickling his side, armpits, and any other tickling point on his body rendering Higgs useless to cast any other spell. 

Madam Rosmerta was now over at their tables with a furious look on her face. “Out! All of you! There is no fighting allowed in the Pub!”

The three Gryffindors smirked at each other and left the Three Broomsticks, pulling Ophelia with them in tow. The two Slytherin boys were still recovering from the hexes and jinxes that were thrown at them. Pucey was knocked out and slumped back in his chair with his nose bleeding and appearing to be broken right in the middle. 

“Fucking Slytherin, mate.” Fred shook his head and rubbed the knuckles he used to punch Pucey that were now slightly bloody from either his or Adrian’s blood. “I hate the lot of them.”

“Freddie… come here. Stop walking so fast.” She took out her wand and held his hand in her own, checking his knuckles. It seemed like he could have hurt his hand from the punch. Ophelia put the tip of her wand on his knuckles and whispered, “ _ Episkey” _ . 

“Thanks, O.” He smiled down at her and rubbed his knuckles as the blood and bruising disappeared. “I owe ya.”

“I think that was me repaying you. You didn’t have to and punch Pucey. They don’t bother me, I just ignore them.” 

“Trust me. I’ve been dying to punch Pucey since first year and it only gets worse anytime he opens his stupid mouth and talks to you. The fact that I was able to do it today, and I knocked the bloke out… it’s better than Christmas.” He smiled cheekily and the group continued to walk to the castle, ready to face the music as they were sure Madam Rosmerta already informed Dumbledore of what happened at the pub.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it! As always, I don't own the characters I just envisioned this character and now I'm making her story into a reality. Hope you enjoy!


	22. Chapter Twenty-Two: You-Know-Who

**Chapter Twenty-Two: You-Know-Who**

Ophelia should hand write a thank you note to Fred Weasley for punching Pucey in the nose because now none of the Slytherin’s gave her the time of day when he was standing next to her. Of course, this didn’t stop the whispers and taunts in Defense Against the Dark Arts which the Hufflepuff and Slytherin 3rd years had together. But, it was definitely toned down since the Hogsmeade trip.

When her friends found out what happened, Cedric cringed. “That’s barbaric that he punched him the muggle way. It’s one thing to duel another man but geez…”

“I think it’s hot!” Grace squealed and pretended to fan herself. “I might have a thing for ginger’s now.” She winked at Ophelia to show that she was only joking but Jacob and Cedric gave her a look like she was crazy. 

“Well I’m sure growing up with 5 other brothers that you learn how to throw a good punch.” Jacob shrugged. “I know my brother and I fight all the time.”

“Only childs wouldn’t know.” Grace pretended to make a face at Cedric and Ophelia. 

The Hufflepuff students were enjoying the warm day outside as they laid out in front of the Black Lake on the south side of the castle. Jacob was teaching Cedric how to skip rocks the muggle way across the water top, sending ripples on the clear surface. Grace and Ophelia were laying down on their robes, and rolled up their sleeves to get some color on their skins from the sun that was shining high above the sky. “I love spring.” Grace sighed and her friend agreed. 

They spent the rest of the day like this, avoiding the creeping responsibilities of exams until the sun went down. The four studied all night since their first exam was the next morning. They would begin exam week with Herbology and Transfiguration. Ophelia knew that she was prepared as the top of the class and wasn’t worried about cramming for information since she had been studying for months now. 

She had no time for any drama this week since her energy was focused on her academic course load. Ophelia was feeling confident after all of her exams. She even got an extremely rare, half-smile from Professor Snape when she turned in a perfectly brewed Wideye Potion and her paper that went into full detail on the importance of brewing Shrinking Solutions and the ingredients that went into them. 

After her last exam, she decided it was time to relax and she could go back to spending time with her friends. Grace and Ophelia were charming a bright Gryffindor lion sign for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw that was tomorrow. There were whispers going through the castle about how Gryffindor wouldn’t be able to stand a chance because the infamous Harry Potter was unconscious in the hospital wing. “I wonder what the boy got himself into…” Ophelia wondered as the lion was glitching and she frowned, wanting the charm to work more smoothly on the roaring lion. 

“I heard… it had something to do with Quirrel.” Grace whispered as she glanced around the Hufflepuff common room. “Everyone is talking about it.”

“What did Quirrel do?” She asked in a low voice.

“Tried to attack the boy. Was working for you-know-who. You can’t tell anyone though. I heard from Cedric, who heard from Marietta Edgecombe, who heard from Katie Bell, who heard from Parvati Patil, who heard from Neville Longbottom that Harry Potter tried sneaking out of the Gryffindor dormitory at midnight and went to fight the professor because he knew that he was a death eater! Dunno how he found out!” Grace shook her head in awe. “An eleven year old! He really is the boy who lived.”

The next morning, they witnessed the worst Quidditch ever. Without their star seeker, Grryfindor got destroyed by Ravenclaw. After the game, Ophelia went to talk to the twins about Harry Potter. “Hey gits.” She called out to them.

Fred and George turned around. “Here to ask us about our famous Seeker?” George asked as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. 

“Well obviously. What happened?”

“Ickle Ronniekins told us that they went and stopped Quirrel from stealing something of Dumbledore’s that would give You-Know-Who his life back. Wicked isn’t it?” Fred’s eyes danced with glee. “We are actually going to the second-floor girls’ bathroom to go steal a toilet seat for him.”

“A what?” She asked with a laugh. “I’m assuming you’re telling me because you would like a look out.”

“Obviously.” The twins chorused together with matching smirks on their face. 

The group of 14 year-old Hogwarts students went into the castle and began the journey to the haunted bathroom. Fred and George checked the map occasionally to make sure that the path they were taking didn’t have any Professors in their way. When the cost was clear, they ran to the next stopping point and repeated the process of checking the map and running. 

Once they made it to the bathroom, Ophelia stood in the entrance way with the map tucked into her back pocket of her jeans. She leaned against the door frame and kept checking the map for people who might go down the corridor and whipping her head back and forth, worried that the map would miss someone, somehow. 

She heard Moaning Myrtle complaining about the noise and screaming at the twins as the sound of a loud bang and running water filled the bathroom behind her. The twins stopped the water it sounded like and whispered to each other as they bumped into Ophelia. Fred took the map that was tucked back into her back pocket swiftly and smirked down at her. “Let’s go.” he giggled as they ran to the hospital wing, taking a shortcut that the boys had found last year. 

Ophelia’s next task was to distract Madam Pomfrey while the boys put the toilet seat on Harry’s bedside table. When she walked in, she was shocked to see Harry look so pale and breakable in the hospital bed. She shuddered at the thought of the young boy taking down a grown male, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor that she trusted who was actually a deatheater. “Madam Pomfrey! How are you doing?” She smiled and walked into the Healer’s office. “Is Harry doing okay?”

The two women began chatting as she heard the twins sneak in and out of the room. When she caught a glimpse of red hair leaving the Hospital Wing she smiled at the Healer and waved a goodby before placing a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans right next to the toilet seat and the mountain of other treats that were left for the brave Gryffindor boy. 

* * *

The End-Of-The-Term Feast was again, decorated in Slytherin green since the Gryffindor’s lost 150 points when Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were trying to sneak out after lights out. Everyone was disappointed at the possibility of Slytherin not winning the House Cup. The smug look on their faces was almost too much for Ophelia to handle as she sighed and leaned her head on Grace’s shoulder. “I wish Gryffindor would’ve won.”

“Yea I think that’s how we all are feeling. At least Hufflepuff isn’t last.” Grace suggested as she shrugged and picked at some invisible lint on her canary-yellow trimmed robe. 

Everyone grew silent as Dumbledore stood up at the raised podium at the front of the Great Hall. “Another year gone and as I understand it the house cup needs awarding and the points stand thus in fourth place Gryffindor house with 312 points.” Everyone politely clapped for the red-trimmed robe table who were looking rather disappointed at their standing. “In third place, Hufflepuff house with 352 points. In second place, Ravenclaw house with 426 points. And in first place and the winner of the 1992 House cup with 472 points, Slytherin house.”

The green-trimmed robe table burst into loud cheers and Professor Snape clapped from the staff table with a smug look on his face. Everyone frowned and sighed with the prospect of Slytherin winning once again. “Yes, yes… well done Slytherin! However…” Everyone’s heads turned toward the headmaster as his eyes glistened behind his crescent moon shaped glasses. “Recent events must be taken into account and I have a few last-minute points to reward.”

Everyone began to murmur with the changes but Dumbledore continued. “First, to Mr. Ronald Weasley… for the best-played game of Wizards chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points.”

The Gryffindor table burst into cheers and the twins and Percy patted their youngest brother on the back with big smiles on their face. “Second… to Miss Hermione Granger for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points.” The Gryffindor table once again burst into cheers.

“This is from the other night with You-Know-Who!” Grace shouted to Ophelia with her eyes bright. “They’re catching up with Slytherin!”

Dumbledore raised his hands to quiet down the students who were now stirring with excitement. “Third I must award points to Mr. Harry Potter for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points.”

“Gryffindor has four hundred and seventy-two points!” Ophelia told her friends who like the rest of the Great Hall, were now leaning in and growing restless since the two houses were tied for first place. 

Dumbledore raised his hands and the Great Hall grew silent. “There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom.”

The Gryffindor table could’ve shattered the windows because their cheers were so loud. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff joined them in cheering for the first time since any student at Hogwarts could remember, Slytherin had not won the House Cup. “Which means…” Dumbledore called over the storm of cheers and applause, “We need a little change of decoration.” 

He clapped his hands and in an instant all of the green hangings with the serpent became a bright red as the towering Gryffindor lion took its place all over the Great Hall. Snape shook Professor McGonagall’s hand with a forced smile on his face. The happiness that filled the Great Hall couldn’t be matched as 3 of the 4 houses were all celebrating greatly tonight. 

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was as always, bright and cheery as the students were returning home for the Holiday’s. Ophelia and Grace were sitting in a compartment with Lee and the twins. Once again, the twins were using their joke shop products to set the room a blaze with colors and laughter as they roared through the hillsides towards King’s Cross.

When they got to the station, Fred helped Ophelia with her trunk again and unlike last year, her father wasn’t able to pick her up since last night was a full moon. The Weasley family offered for her to travel with them since she wasn’t allowed to use magic once she was back from school.

The wizard guard letting everyone pass through like usual to not alert the muggles. Ronald Weasley turned to Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as the students waited. “You must come and stay this summer. I’ll send you an owl!”

“Thanks. I’ll need something to look forward to.” Harry said with a small smile. 

As they broke through the barrier, Ginny Weasley was waving. “Look Harry Potter! I can see him!”

“Be quiet, Ginny!” Mrs. Weasley said to her daughter. “It’s rude to point.”

Mrs. Weasley smiled at all of the children.

“Busy year?”

Harry chuckled. “Very. Thank for the fudge and the sweater at Christmas, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Oh, it was nothing dear.”

A purple-faced and ugle mustached man came towards the young Gryffindor boy. “Ready, are you?”  
“You must be Harry’s family!” Mrs. Weasley smiled at the 3 muggles that stood before Harry.

“In a manner of speaking. Hurry up, boy, we haven’t got all day.” The man walked away, leaving Harry alone with the Weasleys’, Ophelia, and Hermione. 

The witches and wizards were shocked that a man would be so rude and cruel to such a young boy. Harry turned and winked at his two friends before whispering something in their ear and running off. Mrs. Weasley turned to Ophelia and smiled as Hermione went off to find her parents. “Busy year as well?”

She smiled and nodded. “It seems like there’s never a slow year at Hogwart.” The twins laughed beside her as they all found a private space to take the Portkey to the Burrow. She smiled at her friends and wondered when she would see them next and hoped that it would be soon. 


	23. Chapter Twenty-Three: Summer of ‘92

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Summer of ‘92**

Her Summer was jam packed with travel as her father and herself were traveling around Ireland and England to study the various options for Healers after Hogwarts. She almost regretted mentioning to her father that she was thinking of becoming a healer. He didn’t want her options to be limited so they were interviewing and observing various practitioners and all the different occupations that went into a Healer mastery. 

She was back at home to re-pack her bags before going off to stay with the Weasley's before term. Her father was going to go travel and try and get information on Greyback. A terrible shudder went through her spine at the thought of the cruel werewolf who attacked her father when he was a toddler. 

“Don’t forget your pictures, dear.” Her father smiled in the door frame as he was looking at the collage of photos that were stuck to her wall.

“They’re my most prized possession of course I’ll remember those! I’m more likely to forget something actually important like my wand or something.” She shook her head as her father laughed.

“A bright girl like you… I wouldn’t count on it.” He walked to the wall of photos and admired them as she closed the lid of her trunk and stood on her bed to begin taking down the photos. “You seem to enjoy your time at Hogwarts.”

“I have good friends so it helps a lot.” She took down a photo of Grace and Ophelia playing with the plants in the Hufflepuff common room. “I wish I could’ve seen them more this Summer but I’m really excited now to talk to Madam Pomfrey about becoming a Healer. Did you get this guidance from your parents when you were in Hogwarts?”

“No…” His father trailed off as she took down a photo of Fred, George, Ron, and Harry playing in the snow on Christmas day. “The first war was going on right when I was out of school so I didn’t deem it important at the time because I knew I wanted to fight.” 

“That’s very brave of you, Dad.” She smiled at her father before taking down another photo, the one of her and Fred in the Three Broomstricks sharing Butterbeers.

“You and the Weasley’s seem… er-- close.” He grimaced at the wording. “Sorry, dear, I’m not good at these things.” He took in a shaky breath and turned to smile at Ophelia. “I know you don’t have a sister or a mum to go to these things but uh… if you want to talk about… boys ever…”

“Oh godric, Dad. No.” She was blushing brightly over her nose and cheeks now as she shook her head frantically and put a picture of Cedric, Heidi, and herself flying on broomsticks away. “I’ll let you know if I ever date someone. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Well… you’re 14… I was 14 once I know what it’s like to have a crush.” Her father was thankfully blushing as hard as her showing her that this conversation was as equally awkward for him. “Just know you can talk to me about things.”

“I’ll remember that dad. Don’t worry.” She put the last of the photos away and her dad grabbed her trunk which now had stickers of a set of Quaffles and Broomsticks as well as a Holyhead Harpies sticker which was her newest favorite quidditch team. 

They walked down to the fireplace and gave each other long hugs. “I’ve put some money into your bag from your mother’s account. Don’t spend it all in one place.” He joked with her as he set the trunk down next to her.

“I won’t!” She smiled and grabbed a handful of the green powder that sat in a bowl on the mantel. Ophelia gave her father a bright smile before throwing the powder into the Floo and calling out “ _ The Burrow!” _

“Ophelia!” Ginny Weasley shouted at her as she dove towards the Hufflepuff girl who just fell out of the Floo Network into the living room. “Ophelia is here!” She wrapped her in a tight hug. “I’ve been out numbered! I needed you.”

“Brave girl like you. I’m sure you were doing just fine on your own.” Ophelia joked as she kissed the top of Ginny’s red hair, secretly missing the presence of a girl as well.

“Oi! Lupin!” Fred and George crashed into the two girls, causing all four of them to land hard on the ground. “Missed having you around!”

“How was the travel?” George asked.

Ophelia had been exchanging letters back and forth with a few people over the summer, the twins were included on this list of people she wanted to keep in touch with. She had even gotten in touch with Nymphadora Tonks to ask the older girl what she recommended to do after Hogwarts and how to get out into the professional world. “It was wonderful! I thought my head was going to explode with all the information. I’m still not sure where I would like to work after school but it definitely helped me see that I have plenty of options out there.”

“I still can’t believe your dad is having you think that far ahead. OWLs aren’t even until next year.” Fred complained as the boys helped her carry her things to Bill’s old room which is where she would be staying for the week before term began. 

“Well… I think he knew that I always plan ahead and he was making sure I knew all of my options. I think it’s smart. Have you boys began to think of life after Hogwarts?”

“We’re just trying to think of the now… in fact… we have a big mission tonight. Can’t tell you girls, sorry.” Fred winked as Ginny and Ophelia began to protest being left out. 

Mrs. Weasley when she found out that Ophelia had arrived, gave the girl a huge hug and had her sit down and tell her all about her Summer so far. When Mr. Weasley came home from the Ministry and informed her that he would write a glowing recommendation letter about her character and he assumed Amos would as well. She smiled at the Weasley’s and felt so at home.

Ophelia woke up the next morning to the screaming coming from downstairs in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley was shouting at someone. “BEDS EMPTY! NO NOTE! CAR GONE-- COULD HAVE CRASHED-- OUT OF MY MIND WITH WORRY-- DID YOU CARE?-- NEVER, AS LONG AS I’VE LIVED-- YOU WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME, WE NEVER HAD TROUBLE LIKE THIS FROM BILL OR CHARLIE OR PERCY--” 

She crept down the stairs to eavesdrop on what was going on when she heard Fred complain in response. “Perfect Percy.”

“YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY’S BOOK! You could have died, you could have been seen, you could have lost your father his job!” Then Mrs. Weasley turned to look at the other boy in the room. “Of course, I’m very pleased to see you Harry, dear. Come in and have some breakfast.” 

Ophelia felt this was a safe time to reveal her hiding spot as everyone was sitting down for breakfast. She sat down next to Fred and George and gave them a look. “Big mission?”

They nodded as Mrs. Weasley continued her rant. 

“They were starving him, Mum!” George complained.

Ginny appeared in her long nightdress rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before she spotted Harry and made a squeal before running away. “Ginny. My sister. She’s been talking about you all summer.” Ron said as he stuffed his mouth with some buttered toast.

“Yea, she’ll be wanting your autograph.” Fred said with a grin before Ophelia kicked him under the table and Mrs. Weasley gave him a look that could kill. 

Once the group was done eating, Fred stretched his arms up high above his head. “Blimey, I’m tired… think I’ll go to bed and--”

“You will not. It’s your own fault you’ve been up all night. You’re all going to de-gnome the garden for me; they’re getting completely out of hand again--”

“Oh come on, Mum…”

“You two,” She pointed a finger at Harry and Ophelia. “You can go back to bed. You didn’t help with the car.”

Ophelia grabbed an apple and a chocolate chip muffin for Ginny before running off before Mrs. Weasley could change her mind. She knocked softly on the door and Ginny came to crack it slightly open, when she saw it was Ophelia, she yanked the older girl inside. “I can’t believe they didn’t tell me Harry was coming. Did you know?”

She shook her head. “If I knew, I would be forced to de-gnome the garden right now.” She gestured out the window and handed her friend the food. “You missed breakfast. Something you’d like to tell me? A fellow girl?”

Ginny blushed and bit into the apple. “Isn’t he so wonderful? I think it’s amazing what he’s done. The boys think I’m crazy and make fun of me.”

The Hufflepuff girl smiled and let Ginny go into a full rant about how amazing the one and only, Harry James Potter was. She only spoke at the appropriate times and nodded or asked for more so the girl felt heard. She would have to write to Grace and ask her if this is what being an older sister felt like. 

* * *

One morning at the Burrow, Eroll came knocking into the window with all of their Hogwarts letters. All of the students opened up the letters to examine their lists. Fred peered over at Harry’s list. “You’ve been told to get all Lockhart’s books, too. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan.”

“This lot won’t come cheap!” George said with a quick look to his parents. “Lockhart’s books are really expensive…”

“We’ll manage.” Mrs. Weasley said. “I expect we’ll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny’s things secondhand.”

“Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?” Harry asked the youngest Weasley who responded by blushing and putting her elbow into the butter dish. Ophelia grabbed a towel and handed it to the girl, thankful that only Ophelia and Harry noticed what had happened.

“Don’t let your brothers know, but you can have all of my old textbooks that match your list. I take notes in the margins so you will not get tripped up.” She smiled at Ginny who gave her a big smile. 

After they ate breakfast, it was time to get changed and travel to Diagon Alley. They were going to travel by Floo to Diagon Alley. Harry, who had never traveled by Floo, was watching intently as the others traveled before him. 

Once Ophelia traveled through, she was standing next to the twins, Percy, Ginny and Ron who were waiting now for Harry and their parents. They stood and waited until Mr. and Mrs. Weasley popped through the grate. “Where’s Harry?” Mrs. Weasley asked them.

“He’s not coming after you?” Ron asked as his face paled.

“Oh no… oh no… We’ve lost Harry Potter! Arthur what are we going to do?” Mrs. Weasley began crying and poor Mr. Weasley was trying to get her to calm down. 

Ophelia was looking around to see if Harry was wondering around somewhere, in case he just stepped out the wrong Floo Network. She caught a glance of Hermionge Granger running from Gringott’s over to Hagrid who was with… “Harry! Over there, Mrs. Weasley I spot Harry!”

Mrs. Weasley’s head shot up and she began to run over to the group. “Harry! We’ve hoped you’d only gone one grate too far!”

“Where’d you come out?” Ron asked his friend.

“Knockturn Alley.” The boy responded.

“ _ Excellent!” _ the twins said together with a million questions surely racing through their mind to ask Harry about his experience in the forbidden area. 

Hermione’s parents caught up with her and were now standing with the group, taking Mr. Weasley’s full attention as he was insisting that they have a drink together so he could hound them about being Muggles. While those parents went off, Mrs. Weasley took Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny into Gringotts to get money while Percy and the twins separated to go talk to some friends before meeting back at Flourish and Blotts. 

Lee, Ophelia, and the twins met up and went to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. The boys were buying a bunch of Dr. Filibuster’s Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. Ophelia smirked and secretly put a couple sickles into both of the twins pockets before they walked up to the counter to buy them. 

After an hour of shopping, they decided it was time to meet up with the others at Florish and Blotss where they were shocked that there was a long line to get into the bookshop. Ophelia stood on her toes, trying to see over everyone but with her height it was no use. “Oi, tall one.” Both Fred and George turned to her with their eyebrows raised. “Why is there a long line?”

“There’s a sign up ahead--” Fred began.

“It say’s Gilderoy Lockhart is going to be here signing books soon. No wonder there’s so many witches here.” George finished. 

The groups pushed through to squeeze inside. Mrs. Weasley waved them over. A short and irritable looking man bumped into Ron with a giant camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with the flash. “Daily Prophet here… make way!”

Gilderoy Lockhart looked up and spotted Harry. His eyes grew large and he smiled at the boy. “It can’t be… Harry Potter!” Gilderoy grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him to the front where the crowd burst into loud applause. “Nice big smile, Harry. This’ll surely make the front cover.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen. What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography but he had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!” Lockhart smiled brightly at the older women who cheered in the crowd.

“So he’s the one making us buy all his books?” Ophelia shouted to the twins and Lee over the cheers. “What a joke.”

When Harry came back over to the group, Draco Malfoy was sneering down at him. “Bet you loved that, didn’t you POtter? Can’t even go into a bookstore without making the front page.”

“Leave him alone!” Ginny frowned and stood in front of the boy with glasses.

“How cute, you’ve got yourself a little girlfriend!” Malfoy sneered and Ophelia wanted to punch him in his stupid face and wondered if this is how Fred had felt last school year about Pucey. 

“Come on children, let’s go outside.” Mr. Weasley suggested to the children, trying to avoid a fight when Lucius Malfoy appeared behind Draco.

“Well… well… well… Arthur Weasley.”

“Lucius.” Mr. Weasley, who was normally the most friendly man that Ophelia knew, simply nodded coldly at the tall man. 

“Busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids… I hope they’re paying you overtime?” He reached into Ginny’s cauldron and saw a very battered copy of her books. “Obviously not…” He put the books back in with a loud clunk. “Dear me, what’s the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don’t even pay properly?”

“We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy.” 

“Clearly.” Lucius snarled as he eyed Mr. and Mrs. Granger who were standing behind Hermione. “The company you keep… and I thought your family could sink no lower--”

He was abruptly cut off by Mr. Weasley who had thrown himself on top of Mr. Malfoy, knocking him into a bookshelf. Fred and George were cheering for their dad, “Hit him, Dad!” and “Get him, Dad!”

Mrs. Weasley had run over from the crowd. “Arthur, please! No!”

Hagrid was there now and breaking up the exchange. “Yeh should’ve ignored him, Arthur.” Hagrid said as Lucius and Draco disapparated from the building. 

The group left and returned to the Burrow after saying goodbye to the Grangers. As they were traveling back Ophelia turned to Fred and gave him a half-smile. “I can see where you get your temper from now.”

“Only against Slytherins, just like my dad.” He winked down at her before they took their turn to Floo back to the safe place of the Burrow. 


	24. Chapter Twenty-Four: Fourth Year

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Fourth Year**

As they were getting off of the Hogwarts Express and onto the horseless carriages to take them from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts, Ophelia turned her head around wildly. “Er-- Fred, George?”

They looked at her from their spot next to Lee and Oliver Wood opposite of the Hufflepuffs. “What?”

“Where’s your brother? And Harry?” She said, looking at all the carriages and not seeing a single one glimpse with Ron’s flaming red hair or Harry’s messy black hair. In fact, she saw Hermione Granger’s bushy hair also turning around frantically as she looked for someone from her spot next to Neville Longbottom.

“Oh shit. Where are they?” Fred said as he too was looking for them now. 

“Maybe we won’t be the least favorite now.” George joked but a worried look was clouding his eyes as he scanned the students. 

They didn’t have time to worry as when they got to the castle, it was time for the feast. They sat by their respective houses in their house robes. Ophelia was peering at the first years who were now walking in and gave Ginny Weasley a bright smile from the Hufflepuff table.

Of course, Ginny was the last to be sorted with the last name of Weasley. When she sat down on the stool, the hat took barely anytime at all before it sorted her into Gryffindor just like her brothers and after that, the feast began. There were murmurs as Snape and McGonagall disappeared from the head table. Soon whispers from the people who were at the far tables near the head of house were beginning to spread a rumor. It was so ridiculous that Ophelia couldn’t believe it until Grace told her the exact car in the rumor.

“Did you hear that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley crashed into the Whomping Willow with a Ford Anglia?”

“What?” Ophelia asked with her eyes wide open.

“How would they even get a car to fly like that!” Grace shook her head in shock and awe as she bit into her lamb chop with a rich sauce. 

After the feast, Ophelia ran up to the twins quickly before Gryffindor house would disappear into their respective common room. “You better get all the details from your brother! Grace told me that the boys--”

“Flew the car into the Whomping Willow!” The twins chorused together. “That’s what we heard, too!”  
Fred shook his head. “If it’s true, I’m killing Ron for not letting us be in the car with him. That’s legendary stuff and he left us out!”

Ophelia rolled her eyes, and quickly rejoined Hufflepuff as Percy was about to yell at her for interrupting his walk to the common room for the first years. When she returned, Cedric, Jacob, and Grace all were looking at her expectantly. “They don’t know for sure but they heard the same thing and think it’s true!”

“Gryffindors… they’re out of their minds!” Cedric said with a look of disbelief on his face. 

The next morning, the students were in the Great Hall receiving their schedules for the day as they ate breakfast and chatted about the upcoming school year. Ophelia was busy dishing up some bacon and eggs onto her plate when the mail came soaring in. Everyone turned their attention at Ronald Weasley who had just opened a howler that filled the hall with a sound that could break the stained glass. 

“RONALD WEASLEY!” Mrs. Weasley’s voice came out of the bright red letter. “HOW DARE YOU TAKE THAT CAR! I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY’D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK OF WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE. WE GOT A LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN’T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED! I’M ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED AND YOUR FATHER’S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT’S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE’LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!”

The howler burst into flames and Draco Malfoy with his gang began to laugh at Ron’s embarrassed face while most people went back to eating, trying to wrap their minds around what the letter told them was true about the rumors last night. “Never a dull moment.” Grace giggled as she put some porridge in her mouth. 

They began their day with Defense Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindor. Gilderoy Lockhart swooped into the room and waved his wand, sending tests to all of the desks. He gave them a half an hour to complete the three paged test that to Ophelia’s horror was all about him!

He went through and graded the papers right in front of the class. “Excellent, Miss. Grace Thorne remembered that my favorite color is Lilac! Miss. Ophelia Lupin was close… I said I wouldn’t mind a bottle of Ogden’s Old Firewhiskey for my birthday, I’ll give you the point but I would prefer harmony between magic and non-magic people.” He winked at the two girls as Cedric and Jacob were trying to hold in laughter from beside them. 

A piece of paper hit her hand and she quickly covered it so that Professor Lockhart wouldn’t see it. She opened it up and saw Fred’s messy handwriting:  _ Oi, when’s the wedding between you and blondie? I’m sure Lockhart wouldn’t mind if you just held up a mirror the entire ceremony. -F.W _ .

She scoffed and penned back:  _ Sod off you git. Sorry I do the required summer reading. Besides I didn’t even get the answer correct. It’s Grace that should be marrying him, I think she’s drooling. And anyways, I don’t like blondes. -O.L _

With a wave of her wand, she sent the paper fluttering onto Fred’s desk who was sitting behind Grace. He had to hold in a chuckle as he slid the note into his textbook with a smirk growing on his face that he tried to cover with his hand. 

The first week of term went by in a whirlwind of homework, papers, essays, and whispers about the amazing stunt that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had pulled on the first day. Ophelia had just finished completing an essay on the uses of Pepper-Up Potion and was setting the parchment aside to dry when Cedric, Heidi Macavoy, and Anthony Rickett came up to her as they finished their conversation. “Oi, Lupin.” Heidi nodded her head towards the girl. “Bright and early tomorrow, we are all going to the pitch to watch Gryffindor train.”

“They’re already beginning practices?” She asked in shock.

“We’re getting there at 5:30 am.” Cedric sighed as the words came out of his mouth. “Wood is having them train at 5 am. We need to watch what we have to look out for. Not everyone is going. Just the four of us but I respect your three’s opinions so I want you all watching people that’re your competition. I’ll watch Potter. Rickett will watch the Weasleys’ and you and Heidi will take turns watching the three chasers. Don’t worry I won’t be as big of a drill sergeant as Wood as Hufflepuff captain.”

She tilted her head back against the yellow, squishy chair and sighed. “The Gryffindors are out of their mind. I’ll need coffee. I hope the house-elves can give me some to-go.” Heidi nodded at her in understanding. 

The next morning, the four Hufflepuff players were barely keeping their eyes open as they trudged down to the Quidditch pitch. There were a few people already watching the practice going on. Including a first year Gryffindor, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger. Ophelia took a long drag of coffee as she tried to keep her eyes on Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson. Oliver Wood gave the Hufflepuff members menacing looks before continuing the practice. He must not appreciate the spies.

Ophelia held back a giggle as Fred and George half-assed their way through the drills, clearly trying to keep their eyes open enough so they wouldn’t fall off their broomsticks. It looked like all of the Gryffindors, except Wood, were half asleep. 

Soon, all the Gryffindor team members were dropping down to the pitch rapidly following their captain. “Oh shit.” Cedric said as the Hufflepuffs ran down to the pitch to watch Slytherin and Gryffindor as the green robes were storming the pitch. 

They caught Wood shouting at the Slytherins. “Flint! This is our practice time! We got up specially! You can clear off now!”

Marcus Flint had a smirk on his face. “Plenty of room for all of us, Wood.”

“But I booked the field! I booked it!” Wood looked like he was going to explode. 

“Ah… ah… ah…” Marcus Flint was waving a signed note above his head. “You can read this for yourself but I have a letter from Snape to train our newest Seeker.”

“You’ve got a new Seeker? Where?”

Draco Malfoy approached them from the sea of green robes with an evil look on his face. “That’s not the only thing that’s new this year. Father gifted us with Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones.” The brand-new broomsticks were shining in the rising sun's light that was coming over the horizon. 

Now, Ron and Hermione were also joining the group of onlookers of the two quidditch teams. “I’m the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley.” Malfoy smiled smugly. “Everyone’s just admiring the new brooms that father’s bought our team.”

“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent. “ Hermione Granger put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the blonde boy. 

Draco Malfoy scoffed at the young Gryffindor girl. “No one asked for your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood.” 

After Malfoy uttered those words, Cedric had to hold back Ophelia as she held her wand out to the second year Slytherin. Flint had to dive in front of Malfoy to stop the twins from jumping him and Alicia Spinnet shouted, “How dare you, Malfoy!”

Ron plunged his hand into his red-trimmed robe and held out his taped together wand. “You’ll pay for that, Malfoy!”

A loud bang echoed through the stadium and Ron was bent on all fours in the grass and his face looked greener than the Slytherin banners. “Ron! Are you alright?” Hermione asked frantically.

He opened his mouth to speak but instead he threw up a bunch of slimy slugs. All of the Slytherin’s were laughing now and leaning against their new broomsticks for support. The Gryffindors were gathered around Ron as Harry and Hermione picked him up to take him to Hagrid’s. 

The Hufflepuff’s turned to go back to the castle when Adrian Pucey’s voice rang out to them. “Oi! Lupin! If you wanted to take a ride on a Slytherin broomstick you should let me know.” He winked at her and took off in the sky while Wood and Alicia Spinnet held Fred back from diving towards him and George Weasley was being held back by Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell who had taken his wand from sending a jinx towards the boy who was now cackling and flying high into the sky.

“Let’s just go, Ophelia!” Cedric pleaded with her as she also was gripping her wand so tightly she thought she was going to get a splinter from the vine design on the side of it. “Come on!”

Heidi Macavoy now grabbed her other elbow and the two tugged her towards the castle, ignoring the Quidditch players who were continuing their practice behind her. She was fuming, and felt the anger wafting off of her as she shook off her friends and stormed up the grounds, wanting to put as much distance between herself and the quidditch pitch. 


	25. Chapter Twenty-Five: Enemies of the Heir

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Enemies of the Heir**

Halloween approached faster than Ophelia could believe. At the feast, she was happily filling up on Pumpkin juice and a delicious roast that filled her mouth with amazing flavors. Her friends were all talking animatedly about how fast the Slytherin quidditch moved. “I don’t know how we are going to last.” Cedric shook his head, disappointedly. “I wish Draco Malfoy would just choke on a pumpkin pastry.”

“Cedric!” Heidi looked at him shocked. “Don’t let them get to you. You’re better than that.” She gave him a stern look which made him slouch his shoulders in defeat.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just really stressed out as the captain. Now I know why you didn’t want the position.” He eyed Heidi with jealousy.

The girl shrugged and smiled. “I like flying, I don’t want the stress of the season.” 

When the feast ended, the students exited the Great Hall. Everyone was bustling and talking excitedly about their Halloween plans when everyone froze and stared at the stone wall. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood alone, in the middle of the corridor, in front of a horrible message written in what looked like blood. The message said:  _ THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE _ . 

Draco Malfoy scoffed. “Enemies of the heir, beware. You’ll be next mudbloods!”

Grace let out a little whimper, she must’ve been thinking of her dad who was fully muggle without an ounce of magic in his blood. Mr. Filch was pushing through the crowd. “What’s going on here?” When he saw Mrs. Norris hanging from a torch, he fell back and clutched his face. “My cat! What happened to Mrs. Norris?” His lazy eyes met Harry Potter and he grabbed the young Gryffindor’s shoulder. “You! You’ve murdered my cat! I’ll kill you!” 

Professor Dumbledore arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other professors. “Come with me, Argus. You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss. Granger. The rest of you, make your way back to your common rooms!”

Everyone walked back, whispering about what the message could possibly mean. The students agreed that they were going to harass the Professors until they got some answers. For the Hufflepuffs, they found out from Professor Sprout who had came into the bright common room after a while. “I’m sure you are all a little antsy from what had happened, so I had the liberty to bring you all some chamomile and lavender tea.” She smiled brightly and waved her wand as the table in the middle of the room filled with bright yellow tea cups and saucers. The older professor looked uncharacteristically nervous. 

“Professor?” A seventh year Hufflepuff girl asked from near the fire. “What is the Chamber of Secrets? We have a right to know… especially those like me… muggle-born.”

Professor Sprout let out a little squeak and closed her eyes tightly. “Alright. But another word about this. Understood?” Every Hufflepuff nodded their heads before she took in a deep breath and sat down. “For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out young witches and wizards like yourself that showed signs of magic to educate them. But… disagreements prang up between them. A rift began to grow between Salazar Slytherin and the other founders. He thought that they were more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument between Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor. So Slytherin left the school. The school has been searched many times but no one has ever found the chamber of secrets. According to the legends, since it was never found and cannot be verified if it is true or not, Slytherin sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school and unleash… unleash… well… the horror within.” She gulped down a tea to calm her nerves before she looked at the students before her with worry on her face. “The Chamber is said to hold a monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control. However, seeing as the castle has been searched multiple times for centuries, we cannot say that there is anything to be worried about. No… go to sleep, children.” She smiled and tried to cover the worry in her eyes.

Ophelia and Grace clung onto each other on the way upstairs and Ophelia didn’t question it when Grace opened her curtains and climbed into bed with her. They slept like that, two half-bloods thinking  _ ‘Are we in danger?’ _ .

* * *

The school was on edge when it came to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match. Ophelia and Grace had once again, bewitched a sign so that it would cheer for the twins in bright colors. Ophelia put on her Gryffindor colored Weasley jumper and a pair of jeans before they marched down to the pitch.

As the stands saw the teams walk onto the pitch, everyone cheered wildly for their respective teams. Madam Hooch was standing in the middle of the pitch next to her own broomstick. She blew her silver whistle, and the players soared into the air. 

Shortly after the players soared into the air, a Bludger shot out for Harry. He narrowly dived out of the way before George smacked the Bludger towards Pucey but the Bludger changed directions and went back to Harry. George hit it once again, this time towards Malfoy. Once again, the Bludger swerved and came back to hit Harry’s head. “There’s something wrong with the Bludger!” Ophelia screamed and pointed towards Harry. 

Harry tried to out fly the Bludger but it came trailing behind him. Fred was waiting for the Bludger and smacked it towards Pucey, no doubt wanting to knock him out. But as soon as it flew off, it zipped back as if it was only aiming for Harry. With all the craziness and Fred and George focussing on Harry, Slytherin had scored 6 times and the score was 60-0. 

Oliver Wood called for a timeout. The two teams were hard to see since it had started to rain down on the stadium. Madam Hooch called her whistle again and the players raised in the air once again. 

Malfoy and Potter were talking to each other in the air when a bludger hit Harry, smashing into his elbow. “Ouch that had to hurt!” Ophelia cried out as she covered her eyes, before recovering to watch the action. 

Harry Potter had dived towards Malfoy and then he was falling towards the ground at a rapid pass. With a loud thud, he hit the mud and rolled off of his broom. The teammates were flying down to him to see what was wrong. “HARRY POTTER HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!” Lee Jordan shouted through the speakers. 

The cheers that filled the stadium were thunderous as Marcus Flint kicked a Quaffle in anger. Ophelia went to run down and check on the twins were now trying to wrangle the rogue bludger back into the quidditch set of Madam Hooch’s. “What the hell happened?” She asked as she made it to the pitch.

“Dunno. I’ve never seen anything like that.” Fred said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Harry’s off to the hospital wing. We’re going to go and check on him.”

“Want to come with us?” George asked as they began to walk towards the castle.

She nodded and stormed off with them, as they followed the rest of Gryffindor team and began their way up to the hospital wing. When they made it to the hospital wing, George smield at Harry. “Unbelievable flying, Harry! I’ve just seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn’t seem too happy.”

The group began to complement Harry and sit around his bed when Madam Pomfrey came out of her office screaming. “OUT! This boy needs ret, he’s got thirty-three bones to regrow! Out! OUT!”

With groans of complaints, the group left the Hospital Wing. The team went down to the Great Hall to grab something to eat after the game. Oliver Wood suddenly seemed to notice that Ophelia was there and narrowed his eyes at her. “If I catch you spying on a practice again, I’ll personally kick you out.”

She rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Wood. It wasn’t my call. Take it up with the Hufflepuff captain.”

“Is it Macavoy?”

“Diggory.” She responded cooly.

Oliver looked around the Great Hall and caught sight of Cedric and made his way over to the Hufflepuff table, probably about to scream at him over the morning practice. “Don’t worry about Wood. He’s just worried about Harry not being able to play soon.” Fred shrugged as he slumped into the bench at the Gryffindor table and loaded his plate up with sausage links and potatoes. 

“You guys played great defense today. I wonder who messed with the bludger.” She sat next to him and took a few links onto her own plate.

“Dunno… it was crazy. No matter how hard I smacked it, it would always come back to Harry.” George shook his head as Lee sat next to him. 

The group continued to talk about the Quidditch match throughout their lunch. That is until a few members of the Slytherin team walked through the Great Hall doors. “Oi, Pucey and Montague. Great game.” Fred winked.

The two boys got red in the face and stormed up to the Gryffindor table with their wands out but Professor Sprout was leaving the Great Hall then and walked in front of them. She eyed their wands and looked at where they were headed. “No. Not on my watch. Go to your table. 1 point from each of you for trying to provoke a fight.”

“But Professor--”

“I don’t want to hear it! Go!”

The Gryffindor table waited for the Professor and the two boys to leave before they began to howl in laughter. It was good to see Pucey and Montague finally get some points taken off of their hours. Fred held up his pumpkin juice and cheered to a Gryffindor victory. Everyone around him, raised their own glasses and clanked them together as they all merily drank the homemade juice. 


	26. Chapter Twenty-Six: Parseltongue

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Parseltongue**

As winter rolled through Hogwarts, so did a thick coating of snow that covered the school grounds. It was a delightful sight that made Ophelia think fondly of the promise of winter activities like hot cocoa and warming up by the fire in the Hufflepuff common room. Grace had the opposite idea. She was complaining about it always being cold and have to wear two pairs of socks wherever she went. 

The girls were doing homework in the Hufflepuff common room when a group of scared looking second years came in looking rather frightened. Justin Finch-Fletchley was crying as Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott helped him walk into the common room. “It’ll be okay, Justin. Just stay in here. Susan is bringing you some tea from the house-elves.” Hannah was trying to calm the boy down but it was no use. 

Ophelia walked over to them, turning to Ernie who was on the reserve Hufflepuff team to tell her what was going on. He whispered to her as Hannah continued to rub Justin’s back in front of the fire. “Potter and Malfoy were dueling today for Lockhart and Snape. Malfoy sent out a snake and… well Potter started speaking Parseltongue to it and was trying to get the snake to attack Justin!”

“No. That just can’t be.” Ophelia said, shaking her head.

“Look, we know you’re friends with Potter and the Weasley’s. Just… be careful. If he’s after muggle-borns I’m sure he’ll be after half-bloods next.” Ernie sighed and went back to comforting his friend.

She didn’t have the patience right now to sit down and explain that Harry Potter was a half-blood as well. Grace gave her a look to ask her what was going on and Ophelia returned to the padded chair and filled in her friend. Instead of disbelieving it like Ophelia, Grace’s eyes turned wide. “You shouldn’t hang out with Gryffindor anymore! What if it’s true? Only Salazar Slytherin could speak parseltongue.”

“Grace… you can’t honestly think that Harry Potter is the one who is opening the Chamber of Secrets…”

“Oh yea? He’s been at the bloody scene with Mrs. Norris the night of the Halloween Feast and now he is sending snakes against muggle-born Hufflepuffs!” Grace slammed her Herbology textbook shut and closed her eyes. “I’m going to Ravenclaw tower and talking to my sister.”

“Grace…!” She called out but her friend was already through the entrance way on her way to warn her sister of the boy who could speak parseltongue. 

Before she could come up with an argument on why it would be ridiculous for Harry Potter to be attacking muggle-borns, the Hufflepuff house’s worst nightmare came alive. Professor Sprout informed us that Justin Finch-Fletchley had been petrified. She could hardly get through the announcement without crying and excusing herself. Ernie walked up to where Ophelia, Grace, and Cedric were sitting and shook his head. “I told you, Lupin. I told you.”

* * *

Over Christmas Break, with the attacks on muggle-borns, it seemed like most students were wanting to go home for the Holiday’s. Ophelia, signed up to stay at Hogwarts with Fred and George. She was currently meeting up with them at the top of Gryffindor tower before walking down together to have lunch.

Fred and George were shoving Harry through the entranceway of the Gryffindor common room as they shouted to all the paintings, “Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through!”

Ophelia rolled her eyes and joined the parade of Weasley’s as they walked down the stairs. Percy was muttering under his breath how this was nothing to joke about and how the twins were just making things worse. She would never tell the twins this, but she knew that if Grace or Ernie saw them acting like this that they would freak out and run.

Since there were no other Hufflepuffs and quite literally the only Gryffindors that were at Hogwarts over break were the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry, they invited Ophelia into the common room. This action caused Percy to go red in the face and excuse himself otherwise he was going to have to turn in his perfect badge out of guilt. 

The others just rolled their eyes and played a game of exploding snap in front of the roaring fire that was on a far side of the circular common room. There was a painting of a roaring lion above the fireplace mantel. The entire room was decorated in various shades of red and Ophelia smirked silently to herself thinking that the Hufflepuff common room was far nicer than this one. 

She had spent every day of break getting snuck into the common room by Fred and George. The more she spent with Harry also helped her feel more confident that he was in fact not the heir of Slytherin. On Christmas Eve, the twins insisted they have a sleepover in the Gryffindor common room because the thought of waking up alone in the Hufflepuff dorms alone on Christmas was far too depressing for them to handle. She rolled her eyes but was happy to spend time with people instead of isolated on her own. 

They had fallen asleep, talking in their makeshift beds on the ground in front of the roaring fire. She awoke to two screams in her ears, “MERRY CHRISTMAS, O!”

She jumped up and gave the twins each a death stare. “I hate you, two.”

“We love you, too.” Fred winked and tossed her the presents that were at the foot of her makeshift bed. 

Ophelia began going through them and opening them. Her father sent her some new film for her camera, a book on the importance of preparing to be a Healer, and a Spell-Check Quill. Grace got her a Hufflepuff headband with a note that she got one too so they could match. Cedric had sent her a Broomstick Cleaning Kit with a note that she better keep her broom in top shape for the upcoming matches. Mrs. Weasley sent her homemade fudge, sugar cookies, and a Weasley jumper in a beautiful maroon color with grey and white speckles throughout and with a white O knit on the front of the jumper. 

After they spent the day messing with the others and taking pictures in their jumper for Mrs. Weasley to see, their stomachs grumbled. They went to the Great Hall and still it took Ophelia’s breath away. The frost-covered Christmas trees and twinkling lights made her feel so at peace. 

“Oi, distract Percy for me.” Fred pinched Ophelia’s side to get her attention from singing along with Dumbledore. 

“Why?”

“Just do it…” He whined which made her roll her eyes and giggle. 

“Hello, Percy. Enjoying Christmas? I was wondering if you could tell me how to become a Prefect since that is coming up, the selection process for next year.” Ophelia drawled on, she hoped that Percy didn’t know that she had absolutely no interest in being a Prefect because the added responsibilities made her cringe. 

“Oh… I hadn’t realized you were interested… I would love to tell you how I became a prefect…” Percy began to tell her the most boring story of her life but she nodded and pretended to be interested. 

After their talk, she noticed that somehow during all of that, Fred had charmed his badge to no longer say Prefect but it now said Pinhead. She had to hold in laughter that was threatening to escape her lips. 

After dinner, the twins and her decided to run around the castle, avoiding Mrs. Norris, Filch, and Percy who were sure to be patrolling the corridor. “Beware… the Chamber of Secret’s monster might be… right behind you!” Fred jumped out and caused Ophelia to let out a scream before he covered his hand over her mouth. “Are you trying to get us caught.”

“Well don’t scare me like that you git!” She hit him in the stomach which she was pleased that he slightly crumpled under the force.

“Nice arm.” He admired as they snuck in the passageway to get to Honeydukes.

George grabbed them 3 Instant Hot Chocolates as Fred grabbed for some sweets and a couple Butterbeers. Ophelia dug through her pocket and threw down a pile of coins onto the counter to pay for the missing inventory that they were taking with them.

Instead of going back to the Gryffindor common room, they went to Ophelia’s favorite spot to hangout which was in a nook in the wall that had a huge window that overlooked the grounds. It was hidden behind a tapestry that George cast the muffliato charm on so if anyone walked by they wouldn’t hear them. 

“To another successful Christmas!” Fred cheered as they held their Hot Chocolates in the center of their small huddle.

“Here, here!” George cheered along as they all took sips of the liquid chocolate.

“I think if I were to die, the last thing I would want to taste would be Honeydukes Hot Chocolate.” She sighed with her eyes closed, enjoying the heavenly taste. 

Fred thought about that. “I think I’d want to have mum’s homemade christmas fudge before I die.”

“Well this conversation is cheerful… but I think I’d want a nice frothing glass of Butterbeer.” George added and they all thought that those answers were all good things to have before you die. 

“At least you two don’t have to worry about any monster coming to kill people of muggle descent.” She huffed and blew a cool stream of air onto her hot chocolate before taking another sip.

“Oh come on. You can’t actually believe that stuff.” Fred said as he looked at her with disbelief in his brown eyes. 

“Well let’s look at the facts… Collin Creevey and Justin Finch-Fletchley are both muggle-born and have been petrified by someone or something. Mrs. Norris was attacked and there’s been threats on the walls. Sure I don’t think it’s Harry doing those things but it’s someone. I really do think that people like Hermione and Justin aren’t safe right now.” She shook her head, deep in thought. “Grace and I worry that once they’re done with the muggle-borns what's to say that whoever the Heir of Slytherin won’t put that thing on the half-bloods.” She shivered at the thought.

“Well, you have your two knights in shining army to protect you, of course.” Fred cheered.

“Yea, nothing will hurt you with the two of us around. We’ve got your back, Ophelia.” George patted her back and she smiled at her two friends. 

After they drank all of the hot chocolate, butterbeer, and ate enough sweets to give them each a new cavity, they decided it was time to go to bed. Ophelia informed them that she should probably go to the Hufflepuff common room, especially since Percy’s badge was tampered with. She was sure he would kick her out of the common room just to prove a point.

“I’ll walk you back.” Fred suggested as George smirked at them and gave Ophelia a hug goodbye, telling her Merry Christmas one more time before turning away to go up to the Gryffindor tower.

“I know how to get back to the Hufflepuff common room, Freddie.” She chidded him but was secretly glad with everything going on that he was escorting her back to the kitchens.

As they walked down the corridor, they were in a whispered debate on their Quidditch teams and who were better players on the Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor team. Once they made it to the kitchens, it was decided that the Gryffindor team was the better team but the Hufflepuff team had a better team than Ravenclaw.

She awkwardly stood in front of the barrels as Fred looked at her expectantly. “What are you waiting for?” Ophelia asked him.

“Well, you got to see the Gryffindor common room. I think it’s only fair I get to see the Hufflepuff one.”

She bit her cheek to keep from smiling and thought of how she was so happy to show off all of her favorite plants and the cool areas of the common room. She went to the barrel and tapped the tune of Helga Hufflepuff which revealed the door to the common room. 

The two students walked through and she saw Fred look around the round and earthy common room. Despite it being late at night, it still felt sunny as the rays hit the plants that were hanging from the ceiling, windowsills, and on the various shelves. The overstuffed sofas and chairs around the room were in various shades of yellow and black. “This is… really nice.” He said as he stared at the various copper pots that contained plants.

“I don’t think you can see the dormitory. We’ve never tried to see if a boy can visit.” She laughed. “Otherwise I would show you the cute quilts that we have.”

“I doubt I’d make it up the stairs, in Gryffindor Tower if a boy tries to go to the girl’s side the stairs turn into a slide.” He grimaced at the memory of a failed attempt to prank someone probably.

“Well… I better go get ready for bed.” She nodded towards the girls’ dormitory and Fred smiled wistfully at her. 

“Yea… you should. Well… goodnight, Ophelia. I hope you had a nice Christmas.” He shoved his hands in his pocket and turned to leave.

“You too, Freddie.” She smiled and gave him a hug from behind before running off to the dorm, not turning around to see his reaction. 


	27. Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Chamber of Secrets

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Chamber of Secrets**

Ophelia was thankful when her friends returned from Holiday. She told Grace all about her Christmas day and she was annoyed when her friend frowned that she had spent so much time with Harry Potter. She didn’t tell anyone that she had shown Fred the Hufflepuff Common Room because she was sure that they would not be happy with her. She twirled her black ring with the silver constellation which now sat on her ring finger instead of her thumb as she grew.

“What’re you nervous about?” Cedric demanded.

“What?”

“You only play with your ring when you’re nervous. So… what’re you nervous about?” He raised his eyebrow and she hated that now Grace and Jacob were looking at her too.

“Er-- school.” She lied and blushed, trying to push the image of Fred standing in the middle of the common room out of her head. “I just feel like I’ve been falling behind in my studies with Quidditch and everything.”

“You’re not going to quit for school are you?” Cedric’s eyes became wide with worry. “Ernie is good but he’s not up to your talent just yet and--”

“Easy! I’m not quitting. Don’t jump to conclusions, it’ll get you in trouble.”

He looked guilty when she said that and Ophelia realized the double meaning of this as it was a reminder to him of their first kiss. “Er, sorry. You’re right.” Cedric blushed and went back to his Transfiguration homework. 

Thankfully there weren’t any more attacks for a while. Professor Sprout was informing the Hufflepuff’s almost weekly of the progress of the mandrakes since that was how Justin would be revived. Ernie and Hannah grew more wary as time passed, waiting for another attack. 

Professor Lockhart was raving about how he had a secret up his sleeve to raise the spirits of students. At dinner, Cedric and Jacob were joking about how he would probably be giving out more signed pictures of himself or another pop quiz about his life.

To their horror, when they walked into the Great Hall the next week, it was covered in Valentine’s Day items. Professor Lockhart was dressed in a bright pink set of robes and was calling out to the students that they should get in the Valentine’s Day spirit and ask Professor Snape how to make a love potion.

“I think he would be the last person I ask on how to make a Love Potion.” Ophelia sneered and sat down at the Gryffindor table with Fred, George, and Lee. 

“Oh come on, you don’t want greasy hair to sneak it’s way into the love potion?” Fred teased her. “I thought you said you didn’t like blonde hair, his hair doesn't look blonde to me.”

“If grease were a color, that’s what it would be.” George added as he ate his breakfast. 

Lee bit his lip, “Don’t like blonde hair… well I’m probably just your type then.” He tried hiding a smile before jumping up and getting down on his knees in front of Ophelia. “Ophelia Lupin!” He shouted, getting the attention of many students and a few professors. “I have been stricken with emotion from these motivating decorations that were brought into the Great Hall… I think… I think… I love you!”

“Bloody hell, Lee. Get the fuck up!” She ducked under her hands to avoid the stares and wolf-whistles that were coming her way. “I will kill you.”

People at the Gryffindor table began to laugh as Lee kept the show going and pretending to get heartbroken and fake cry at Ophelia’s rejection. Professor Lockhart seemed to think this show was real and she could hear him going on about how heartbreak was an important part of love since the heart cannot choose who one loves.

“If I hear about this from him in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I’m literally going to sneak into the Gryffindor common room and slowly kill you. I’m going to make it painful, Lee. Do you understand me?” She shot him a death glare and stabbed a couple strawberries and put them on her plate.

“You wound me, Ophelia. But jeez, is it wrong I’m a little turned on by your threat.” 

That was the final straw. She dumped the entire quart of pumpkin juice down the front of him. Lee got up with a startled remark and shook his head in disbelief. “Alright, Lupin. Truce.”

He took out his wand, and dried his robes off. The twins were cackling with glee from the displays that their friends were putting on. “To think, we wouldn’t be the ones causing a scene on Valentine’s Day… I’m shocked.” Fred said in between peels of laughter. 

“I’m sure you boys will think of something.” Ophelia rolled her eyes and went back to eating her breakfast. 

Sure enough, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, as Ophelia was trying to lay low and act like the scene with Lee never happened this morning, the twins made sure that wasn’t a possibility. George Weasley got up during Professor Lockhart’s speech and began to recite some type of poem to Ophelia. 

“Oh Ophelia! Everyday with you gives me a thrill;

All my dreams you richly fulfill.

I’m a fool for your charms;

You belong in my arms;

Love me please; and say you will!”

Professor Lockhart was actually wiping away tears in his eyes as he saw George wink at the Hufflepuff. “You traitor!” Fred said in mock horror as he hopped up on his desk. “Ophelia is my girl! How could you, my own brother… no… my own twin!”

With that, Fred ran out of the room in fake tears, no doubt using this stunt to skip class. George pretended to be concerned and called after him as he chased him out of the classroom. Professor Lockhart shook his head at Ophelia and asked to speak with her after class.

She huffed and held back as her friends wished her good luck. “Ophelia, dear. You need to be gentle with these young men's hearts. I know that Gryffindor’s don’t have the brains that Ravenclaws had when I was 14 or 15 but you need to be careful. They’re clearly all putty in your hands. I will not stand to see others get harmed by others. Do I make myself clear?”

She scoffed. “Crystal, Professor.” 

* * *

Ophelia had never been more thankful for a Quidditch match. Cedric and Heidi were eyeing her warrily as she fidgeted in the changing room. “What’s wrong with you? Are you going to be able to focus?” Cedric asked.

“Oh yes. I need an excuse to kill the Weasley’s.” She finished putting her hair into two long, dark braids down her back and stood up from the bench in the changing area. “Would it be frowned upon to crash into the announcer box because that could handle my Lee Jordan issue as well.”

Cedric laughed. “Yes, that would be frowned upon.”

The Hufflepuffs all began to chuckle before getting serious again. Cedric was giving them a little pep talk as Ophelia messed with the black button on the top of her canary yellow Quidditch robe. She breathed in and out to try and calm down before they walked out onto the pitch. The fans in yellow and black began to cheer loudly and shout “Go, go Hufflepuff! Go, go Hufflepuff!” 

Ophelia scanned the pitch and saw that Madam Hooch was in the middle of the field near the balls, now analyzing them before letting them out of their container. Gryffindor was nowhere to be seen yet. “Early birds get the worm.” Heidi smiled and nudged the other Hufflepuff chaser.

Soon the stadium filled with roars from the Gryffindor fans as the team in scarlet robes sauntered onto the field. Oliver Wood began to take some practice loops around the hoops and the other Gryffindors also began to warm up. Fred gave Ophelia a wink and mouthed “ _ Goodluck _ ” before George tossed him a beater bat. 

Cedric smiled at his team. “Alright, Hufflepuff. We got this. I know that Gryffindor has a strong team but so do we. I’m proud of you all no matter what happens today.”

Just as Ophelia mounted her broom, Professor McGonagall came storming onto the pitch. “This match has been canceled.” Her voice was magnified to ring through the entire stadium which was answered by boos and shouts. 

The two Quidditch teams that were about to play all walked towards the Professor. Oliver Wood was the first to speak, “But, Professor! We’ve got to play-- the Cup--”

She ignored the complaints of the Gryffindor Quidditch captain and continued to announce to the crowd. “All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!”

Professor McGonagall then grabbed Harry Potter and took him off of the field and beconned for Ron to join them with her hand. Ophelia walked over to the twins. “What is this all about? Do you know anything?”

George shook his head. “Dunno… we weren’t expecting this at all… clearly.” He gestured over to Oliver Wood who looked like he was going to cry. 

“Ophelia! You heard Professor McGonagall, let’s go!” Cedric said to her as the rest of the Hufflepuff team walked towards the castle.

“Talk to you guys later!” She called behind her shoulder to the twins as she ran up to join her team.

Later on in the Hufflepuff common room, Grace and Ophelia were sitting together near one of the circular windows that poured sun over them in their black chairs. Professor Sprout was taking a headcount to make sure all of her students were there before she began to speak. “I know you will have questions, but please just listen to this announcement first.” Professor Sprout unrolled a parchment paper and cleared her throat before beginning, “All students will return to their House common rooms by six o’clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities.” 

Everyone began to feel the tension growing in the room as Susan Bones raised her hand. “Is the school going to stay open, Professor?”

Professor Sprout smiled sadly at all of the students before talking. “It is likely that the school will close unless the person responsible behind these attacks will be brought forth. So please, if you have any idea of who is responsible tell myself or a Professor you feel comfortable with. There was another double attack today, a second year Gryffindor girl and a sixth year Ravenclaw Prefect were attacked. I want to stress following these new rules since they are in place for your safety. I want to protect you all but you must allow the teachers to help.”

After no one else raised their hand to ask a question, Professor Sprout waved her wand to bring out tea for the common room before leaving through the entranceway. Grace began to cry once she was out of sight. Ophelia wrapped her in a tight hug when Cedric and Ernie Macmillan began to talk about the attacks. “You don’t think Slytherins are involved do you?” 

Ernie pursed his lips. “I still think it’s Potter. However, it is suspicious that they are the only house that hasn’t been attacked yet.”

“Who cares which house they are in?” Grace snarled through her tears. “They’re trying to kill people. I hope whoever is responsible is caught soon.”

The classes at Hogwarts seemed to go by in a dream. All the students were just moving through the motions with the freedom taken away to enjoy their breaks and talk to their friends in the corridor. It was horrifying being walked from class to class with an adult like a first-year. The only time that Ophelia had to talk to the Gryffindors was now during meal times.

She sat down next to the twins and Ginny one lunch when she noticed that Ginny had extremely dark circles under her eyes. “Ginny… are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” The younger girl snapped before writing furiously in her diary. “I just don’t want to talk to anyone right now.”

Fred and George gave a shake of their head. Apparently, Ginny had been acting like this for a while now. Poor thing must’ve been so stressed out about the possibility of any of her friends being taken to the Chamber of Secrets. “I bet you boys are dying with all of the new restrictions since you can’t sneak out of the castle anymore.”

“We tried. Percy is constantly on our case about it.” George sighed.

“After Penelope Clearwater got attacked, he sort of snapped. He didn’t think any Prefects or Purebloods would be attacked. Now he’s worried and trying to keep the Weasley family on a tight leash.” Fred stabbed a roasted brussel sprout with his silver fork before shaking his head. “It’s rather degrading. I feel like a first year, no offense, Gin.” 

The younger girl didn’t even acknowledge her brother. And they continued the lunch trying to involve Ginny into conversation, but her giving them the cold shoulder. When she was finished, Professor Snape came up to her and growled that she should be with the other Hufflepuffs since it was time for Potions. She gave a small wave to the boys before running off to join her friends in the yellow and black ties. 

They all thought that this would be the new normal as they spent months being escorted from class to class as no other attacks came forth. That is, until one night Professor Sprout appeared with tears in her eyes in the Hufflepuff common room. “Gather around everyone. I have an important announcement to be made.”

Everyone stirred and sat down on the ground or leaned against the wall or shelves to get closer to the head of Hufflepuff to be able to hear. “Unfortunately, our worst fears have come to life. A student was taken into the Chamber of Secrets--”

“Who?” Grace cried out before slapping her hand over her mouth as the other students looked at her. “I’m sorry Professor, some of us have siblings in other houses…”

“Of course, dear.” Professor Sprout swallowed. “A Gryffindor girl… Ginny Weasley.”

Ophelia lost the feeling of her legs and fell onto the armrest of the chair that Cedric was sitting on. She felt like the common room had begun to spin and she was going to be sick. Professor Sprout’s mouth kept opening and closing, as if she was talking but all Ophelia could hear was a sickening ringing in her ears. As the other students began to leave to go to the dormitories, Professor Sprout walked over to where Ophelia sat. 

She continued to open and close her mouth, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a potion that she uncorked and put under Ophelia’s nose. The world zipped back into focus and the Hufflepuff girl felt like she had just drank 10 mugs of a very strong coffee. “Ophelia dear… are you alright?”

“You’re sure. Ginny Weasley?” 

Professor Sprout nodded solemnly. “Yes… the Weasley parents are being informed as we speak. I’m afraid they're sending down Professor Lockhart to help but we are unsure of what will happen. That is why we are sending the rest of the students home and the Hogwarts Express will take you all home first thing tomorrow morning.”

“How are the others handling it?”

“Who, dear?”

“The Weasleys. Please can I go see them, go talk to--”

“Absolutely not.” Professor Sprout snipped and then closed her eyes to breathe deeply before looking at the girl with sympathetic eyes. “I’m afraid, everyone is to stay in their common rooms until we can safely escort you to the Hogwarts Express. You may talk to your friends then.”

Ophelia began to cry out of helplessness and despair. She was picturing the young red-headed girl climbing on top of her brother's shoulders with a loud and lively laugh and playing Exploding Snap with her in matching jumpers in front of the Weasley clock that pointed the hands to various predicaments that the family was in. Was hers now pointing to mortal peril? How were the twins taking this? How was Percy handling it? How was young Ron dealing with the loss of his only sister? It was all too much for her to handle. She was breathing rapidly, unable to control her heart rate when she vaguely heard Cedric asking her if she was okay. The last thing she remembered was Professor Sprout muttering, “Oh dear” before the world went blank.


	28. Chapter Twenty-Eight: Panic Attacks

**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Panic Attacks**

When the world came back into focus, Ophelia was no longer in the Hufflepuff common room. She glanced around and realized she was glancing at her surroundings. There was a blue curtain and she was laying on a sterile, white bed.  _ Hospital wing. _ “Ophelia!” Her father’s head swooped into view as he wrapped her into a tight hug. “I thought we talked about and worked on your breathing when you feel like this.”

“What happened?”

“You had a panic attack, dear.” Her father pulled back and dug through his robe pockets to give her a piece of chocolate at the same time that Professor Sprout gave her a glass of water before attending to some other students in the room. 

“Why are you here, dad?” She rubbed her eyes, and still felt shaky as she sat up in her hospital bed.

“Well… I was called as soon as you passed out. They weren’t aware you had panic attacks. I told them it occasionally happened but that you’ve never passed out before.” His face fell as he leaned his elbows onto her hospital bed. “They told me about Ginny Weasley. I’m very sorry for your loss, dear.”

The tears began to stream down her face. “I just… I knew something was wrong. She had been so distant lately and closed off. I could’ve done something and I--”

“You couldn’t have stopped this without also getting yourself hurt.” Her father said sternly. “Thankfully, the others are coming too now as Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey have the mandrakes ready.”

They were interrupted by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley waking into the hospital wing with… no… that couldn’t be.  _ Ginny Weasley _ . Ophelia leaped out of her bed, ignoring her fathers protests as she ran up to the family, almost passing out again from the energy. “Ginny!” The older girl wrapped her arms around the young Gryffindor. 

“I’m so sorry, Ophelia. I was so mean to you--” Ginny began to cry into her night robes.

“Stop that. Stop that right now. I don’t care what happened. All that matters is that you’re okay and you’re alive!” 

“Ophelia… I think you should let her get checked.” Her father was peeling her off of the young girl.

Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey put Ginny in a bed next to Ophelia’s so that the families and girls could talk to each other. Ginny was doing fine, she just had a few potions to perk herself back up and she was going to get another check up after Madam Pomfrey cared to the others in the room. The two girls were talking animatedly about how thankful they were that everyone was okay when Professor Dumbledore walked into the room. “Ah… what a joyous day, indeed. Remus… can I please talk to you in my office?”

“Is everything okay, sir?” Her father stood up from his chair.

“Oh yes, yes. I’m sure you’re getting deja vu about getting in trouble.” The old man winked at her father as he blushed. “No… no… you’re not in trouble today. I would just like to talk to an old friend about something.”

Her father hesitated and glanced back at Ophelia before Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. “Go, Remus. We will keep an eye on Ophelia.”

Before they could wonder about what was going on with her father, the door opened and the Weasley boys poured into the room. Percy ran directly to Ginny and began apologizing to her as the twins, looked speechless and leaned against the bed frame with tears in their eyes. Ron held back and instead glanced at Ophelia. “What’re you doing here?”

“Dunno… they say I had a panic attack and I passed out.”

“Whatchu have a panic attack for?” Ron raised his eyebrows.

“Well… for one I thought your sister was dead. I think that’s what did it for me.” 

“Hmm… well… she’s fine now thanks to Harry.”

“Harry? Harry saved her? How’d he do that?” Ophelia asked as she tried to sit up again before the room started to spin a little and Madam Promfrey yelled at her to lay still. 

At Ron and Ophelia’s conversation, the other Weasley boys now turned to listen as Ron began to tell about him and Harry sneaking into the chamber of secrets. Ginny filled in some gaps of the story of things he left out. At the end of it, all the older students' mouths were basically on the floor in shock at how brave the 12 year old boys were. 

Just as Ophelia was going to ask more questions, her father returned. “Hello boys.” He sat down and looked at his daughter. “O… I need to ask you an important question before I go talk to Dumbledore again. I want you to be completely honest.”

She nodded. “Sure, dad. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, I just want to make sure you’d be okay if I took a position as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.”

“Wicked.” The twins said in unison which earned them a look from both Lupin’s. 

“I don’t think I would mind, dad. You’re brilliant with all your knowledge from our travels. I think it would be great for the school.”

“And what about you? Would you mind me being here?” He raised his eyebrow, the scars shifting on his face in worry.

“As long as you make my Quidditch matches and don’t give Gryffindor too many house points I think it’ll work out just fine.” She winked and her father laughed.

* * *

Thankfully, Madam Pomfrey released both Ginny and Ophelia before the feast. Their parents returned home with the promise of seeing them at the train station. Harry was a big celebrity at this feast since word traveled fast that the scrawny second year boy was the reason that Ginny Weasley had lived. 

At the feast, the students burst into thunderous applause when the Professors announced that the final exams were canceled for the school year. Dumbledore also announced that they would have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor next year since Professor Lockhart was no longer able to return.

When it was time to go home on the Hogwarts Express, Ophelia squeezed into a compartment with the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione. Fred and George were putting on a show lighting the last of their Filibuster fireworks as Ophelia happily snapped her camera to capture the cheerful moment. 

When they got to King’s Cross, the twins were helping Ophelia and Ginny get their things off the top part of the compartment when Harry asked Ginny a question. Something about Percy’s secret. The young girl began to giggle. “Percy’s got a girlfriend!”

Fred was so shocked that he dropped Ophelia’s books onto George’s head. “What?”

“It’s that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater. That’s who he’s been writing to all last summer. He’s been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them snogging in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was attacked. You won’t tease him, will you?” 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” said Fred, who was almost bouncing up and down with excitement of the news.

“Definitely not,” said George sniggering. 

Ophelia leaned down into Ginny’s ear and whispered, loud enough for the twins to hear, “If they do tease him, just defend Perce and tell them that he got a girlfriend before these two did.” 

Ginny threw her head back into laughter as the twins looked at Ophelia with disgust. “Oi, sorry we don’t have people throwing themselves at us like some people do. What’s your excuse?”

“Simple… I don’t want a boyfriend right now.” She shrugged. “Especially with, you know, my dad being at the school next year. That would be awkward if my own dad caught me snogging someone.” She winced at the horrifying thought. “Besides… no one is actually interested in me.”

“Are you thick?” Fred asked her with a look of disbelief on her face.

“You have guys from multiple houses talking about you.” George laughed.

“Who?” She asked with her arms crossed.

The twins shook their heads. “No way! You were getting Ginny to make fun of us. We aren’t helping you!”

They bickered the entire way off of the Hogwarts Express before they met up with their parents. Ophelia gave the Weasley’s hugs, minus Percy who she now assumed was off with Penelope saying his own goodbyes. “I’ll see you all soon, hopefully!”

With that, her father and her left for their home. Her new task was to help her father think of exciting lessons. It was fun to see him so nervous about returning to Hogwarts and teaching the students. She kept smiling at him over her cup of tea as he would ask her questions like, which topic would be more interesting and how she felt her past professors handled the topics. It was fascinating seeing him so animated and she wished that he could feel this happy all the time. 


	29. Chapter Twenty-Nine: Summer of ‘92

**Chapter Twenty-Nine: Summer of ‘92**

Grace Thorne was currently painting on a perfect coat of black nail polish onto Ophelia’s fingers as they listened to some muggle radio station that was currently playing a song called “Good Vibrations” by some band that had a strange name. Melody and Grace, who listened to muggle music constantly because their father, were bobbing their heads along and singing with the band on the radio.

Ophelia had been spending time here while her father was going through his changes. She wanted to go to the Weasley’s but since Mr. Weasley won the Daily Prophet Grand Prize Galleon Draw, the Weasley’s had been in Egypt for an entire month. She was currently reading Fred and George’s letter in her left hand while Grace worked on her right. 

_ Ophelia, _

_ It’s absolutely amazing in Egypt. We have got to tour all these crazy tombs and it’s wicked the magic that was put so that muggles wouldn’t steal the treasure within. Mum won’t let Ginny go into some of the more hazardous ones. You’ll never believe what we saw, a skeleton with three heads from a trap that went off! _

_ We are so excited that Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw. Most of the money is going towards this trip but they’re getting Ron a new wand and we are each getting a new set of robes! Now we might be turning a bunch of heads this year with the brand new clothes, so be prepared to hold back all the ladies off of us. We are going to Diagon Alley the week before term starts. Would you and your father want to meet our family there? _

_ We hope you’re having a good Summer! We cannot wait to see you soon. We’ve missed you. _

_ Love, your favorite Weasley’s _

_ Gred and Forge _

_ P.S. Oh how could we forget. If you visit, Percy won’t shut up about being Head Boy. If you thought him being Prefect was bad, just watching him shine this stupid badge. Mum won’t shut up about it either! _

“Ophelia! Other hand please.” Grace sang as the song finished and Melody moved the mini fan over to her fingers.

She listened to her friend and set down the letter. The girls began to talk animatedly about the upcoming school year since they knew that her father was going to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. “I mean your dad is kind of cute, O.”

“Oh… vomit. Please don’t say that to me ever again.” Ophelia shut her eyes tightly and shook the memory out of her mind.

“What? He’s so young compared to some of the other professors!”

“He’s the same age as Snape I think.”

“No way. Snape looks so… old. It’s probably the hair.” Grace laughed as she finished her friend's nails. “Too bad mum isn’t home. She could dry them instantly with magic.” 

“We get to listen to more music this way.” Melody pointed out and cranked up the radio which was now singing an inappropriate song by a Sir Mix-a-Lot about girls' butts. 

When it was time for her to return home, she was all dolled up with a fresh set of black nail polish on her hands and toes. She also had a full stomach as Mr. Thorne insisted that he make them all a full English breakfast before she Flooed back home. She didn’t know how Grace and Melody were so skinny when their father made such amazing food.

“Dear! How are you?” Her father was packing up his books, looking through the contents and deciding if he wanted to take them to Hogwarts or not.

“Good! I got a letter from the Weasley’s, they’re going to Diagon a week before term. Would we be able to go with them?” She sat down in the chair next to the book shelf with a hopeful look on her face.

“Well… that’s supposed to be the week of the full moon…”

“Oh… nevermind!” She tucked a curl behind her ear and stood up to go to her room.

“You should let the Weasley’s know that you can go with them but your father has to decline. Tell them that I have to do something for Hogwarts.” 

“Sure, dad!” She hoped that the disappointment wasn’t in her voice about not having her dad with her to help her pick out her school supplies once again. 

* * *

Ophelia had just Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron which is where the Weasley’s told her to meet them. When she landed, three different people tackled her in a big hug. She laughed at the twins and Ginny all fighting for her attention first. “Ophelia, your nails!” Ginny looked at them and raised an eyebrow. “Won’t they get chipped during Quidditch? Doesn’t seem very practical to me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Quidditch doesn’t start for a while, you goof. Besides, it's more of like a fashion statement.”

“Wicked. You look badass.” Ginny noted, staring at the paint. 

“Ophelia!” Mr. Weasley cheered brightly. “How are you doing, dear?” His smile, although large on his face, looked slightly forced.

“I’m well. How are you?”

“Well… things at the ministry are a bit tense right now. Which is what I wanted to talk to you about.” He led the girl away from her friends as they sat at one of the tables in the pub. “Ophelia… are you familiar with the name Sirius Black.”

“Yea, he’s that criminal who escaped Azkaban a couple days ago. Killed the Potters. Why?” She crinkled in her dark eyebrows in confusion.

Mr. Weasley gulped and took a deep breath before continuing. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re being extra careful this year at Hogwarts. Your father sent me a patronus asking if you could stay with us until term begins. He’s currently helping the ministry answer some questions about Black and he doesn’t want you to be involved.” He glanced over at the twins and back to the Hufflepuff girl. “I know the twins like to sneak around, I will not deny that. I beg you not to go with them this year.”

“Mr. Weasley… why is it so important that I don’t go with them? Hogwarts is the safest place with Dumledore. Besides, what does Sirius Black escaping Azkaban have to do anything with me?”

Mr. Weasley’s ears turned pink slightly as the door to the pub opened and the bell clang, signalling Mrs. Weasley, Percy, Ron, and Harry walking in. “Just be careful, dear.” He smiled before going to talk to his wife.

Ophelia joined the twins and Ginny as they walked up to the rest of their family. “Ophelia! I’m sure you heard the exciting news, we have another Head Boy in the family!” Mrs. Weasley beamed at Percy who was smirking as he readjusted his glasses. 

“He’ll be the last.” Fred muttered under his breath.

“I don’t doubt that.” Mrs. Weasley tisked as she turned to the twins. “I notice they haven’t made you two prefects.”

“What do we want to be prefects for?” George asked, looking repulsed. “It’d take all the fun out of life.”

Ginny giggled as Ophelia hid a smile behind her hand. Mrs. Weasley snapped at the twins. “You want to set a better example for your sister!”

“Ginny’s got other brothers who set her an example, Mother.” Percey said.

Tom the innkeeper had pushed three tables together for the large group that were staying for dinner. They all joked and ate delicious food that was prepared for them. Mr. Weasley kept giving strange glances to Ophelia and Harry throughout the dinner and she tried to push the worry from her mind but his strange lecture to her from earlier was stuck in her head.

After dinner, she was upstairs in a room with Ginny and they were organizing their trunks with the things they got from Diagon Alley today. They were giggling about the new year at Hogwarts. The younger girl bit her inner cheek and looked around the room before whispering, “Ophelia… have you ever kissed a boy before?”

“Er-- yes.” She said and blushed at the memory of kissing Cedric on the Quidditch pitch.

“What was it like? I want to know what kissing is like. It’s no fair that Percy is kissing people and I’m not.”

“Percy is 17 and you’re 12. You shouldn’t be kissing anyone.” Ophelia laughed and ruffled Ginny’s hair affectionately. 

“Well how old were you when you had your first kiss?” Ginny demanded as she crossed her arms over her Gryffindor shirt that looked like it used to be one of her brothers. 

She blushed from all the questions. “I was 14. Why does it matter?”

“I hear the others talk about kissing and I want to be doing it too!”

“Who else was talking about all this rubbish? Surely Ron’s not kissing anyone.” The Hufflepuff girl shut her trunk and closed the latches, trying not to get worried about the answer. Why should she care if the twins were kissing someone? Perhaps Ginny was referring to Bill or Charlie...

“Well… they aren’t kissing people but they want to be.” Ginny giggled. “I’m not saying anymore.”

“Why not! I thought you were my friend, Gin.”

“That’s low, O.” The red-headed girl shook her head and laid in bed. “I’m going to sleep now, goodnight! You won’t get another word out of me.”

Ophelia laid in bed too, thinking hard about what Ginny could possibly be talking about. She was getting annoyed by the tossing and turning and decided to go talk to the twins and ask them themselves. She got up and went over two bedrooms where she knew they were staying. She knocked twice and waited for them to answer the door. “We’re going to bed, mum. We--” Fred was cut off when he noticed instead of Mrs. Weasley it was Ophelia. “Oh, Hello!”

They grabbed her and brought her into the room where none of their things were packed yet. “Geez. You boys have had hours to pack!” She accused them as she picked up a book and tossed it into a trunk.

“We got distracted.” George laughed as he tossed a Quaffle up into the air before catching it as it fell down. “Besides, aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

“Well yes. But Ginny was basically interviewing me and I couldn’t go to sleep.”

The twins stilled slightly before Fred asked. “What was she talking to you about?”

“Kissing.” She said flatly, letting the word sink in. 

“Oh was she now.” George said a look of betrayal crossed his face. “We’ll have to have a talk with her about that.”

“I already gave her the talk that she’s too young if that’s what you’re going on about, George. No, she was being very secretive. She was saying that all you lot were talking about kissing this summer but would refuse to say who.” Ophelia moved over a Gryffindor tie and sat down on one of the beds. “So are you going to tell your friend or not?”

“Not.” They said in unison.

“What?! That’s completely unfair!” She squealed.

“Bloody hell, are you trying to wake up Mum and Dad.” Fred whispered as he glanced to the door, expecting Mrs. Weasley to come in and scream at the three of them. “How about a deal, we will tell you who we were thinking of when Ginny asked who we liked if you tell us who you like.”

“No deal.” She said as a blush creeped up her neck. 

“Then we aren’t telling you.” George said as he resumed throwing the Quaffle.

“You boys are ridiculous, well I’m going back to sleep. All you Weasley’s are so annoying with your secrets.” She threw her hair over her shoulder and walked back to her room before climbing in between the sheets and letting sleep take her to her dreams. 


	30. Chapter Thirty: Year Five

**Chapter Thirty: Year Five**

The Hogwarts Express was packed like usual. Her friends were able to find a compartment and took it over. Fred and George were talking with Lee Jordan about the upcoming trip to Zonko’s and what they would buy. Cedric and Grace, who had both came over to the compartment after their Prefect duties were finished, were asking Ophelia about what to expect from her dad’s class since she only told her friends and made them swear they wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“I bet your dad is a brilliant teacher if he’s anything like you.” Cedric smiled at her which caused Ophelia to blush at the compliment.

Grace nudged her friend with her knee and giggled before whispering into her ear. “Cedric got quite handsome over holiday hadn’t he?”

She blushed again and rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Grace. That’s all you think about.”

“What’s all she thinks about?” Fred asked from his spot across from Ophelia. 

As the girl was about to open her mouth to come up with some lie, the lanterns began to flicker on the train before going out completely. Grace’s hand caught Ophelia’s in a tight grip. “What’s going on?”

“We’ll go check it out.” One of the twins said in the darkness. 

There was movement in their compartment as the boys opened the door to try to peer out into the hallway. A voice came from the hall, Angelina Johnson, “Do you lot know what’s going on?”

“Haven’t a clue. That’s why we came out here.” 

While they were talking, the train began to move slower and slower. “Oi, brains.” Lee Jordan called over.

“What?” Ophelia asked.

“We can’t already be there, right? Like this isn’t normal. How long does it usually take to get to Hogwarts?”

“We shouldn’t be there for another half an hour…” Ophelia said solemnly as she looked at the watch on her wrist from the moon light that was shining through the window. 

The train was no at a complete stop, which caused one of the twins to lose their balance and fall down. “Bloody hell.” He complained while Ophelia reached out to help him up. “Maybe we broke down. I swear George and I had nothing to do with it.”

“Someone’s moving outside…” Grace whimpered from her spot near the window.

All of the 5th years were now crowding the small window, trying to look through the rain at what was causing the delay on the Hogwarts Express. She was right, there were figures in black cloaks, getting onto the train. “Those aren’t people.” Cedric said solemnly. “My dad’s told me all about them. They work for the ministry, they’re--”

As he was about to finish his sentence, their compartment door opened and the life of the compartment was sucked out with it. The students turned around and saw a figure drift towards them. Fred and George reached for their wands while Grace hid behind Ophelia. Once the figure turned to look at all of them, Ophelia felt like she had fallen into a deep depression. There was no happiness and no joy when this figure was around. 

Before the twins could say anything, the figure lost interest and moved to the next compartment. “Dementors.” Ophelia said in a whisper as she dropped to the floor with the lack of energy. 

After a while, the lanterns flickered back on and the Hogwarts Express took off again. Cedric was kneeling next to Ophelia with a concerned look in his eye. “How can I help?”

“My trunk… get some chocolate. My dad was saying that helps.” She pointed weakly to her trunk which Fred was now bringing down from the racks.

Instead of handing the piece of chocolate to Cedric’s opened hand, Fred cracked a piece off from the large chocolate bar and gave it to Ophelia himself. “There you go, Lupin. No need to worry. We’ve got you.” 

Grace stood by the door and smiled at Ophelia. “I’m going to see if there’s something for you to drink.” With that, she slipped out of the door and went off to find some gillywater or pumpkin juice. 

Once Ophelia felt like she could stand, she carefully stood while both Cedric and Fred gave her a helping hand. “Thanks, boys.” She murmured as she sat back down onto the chair and rested her forehead against the window. “Sorry for being such a pain, my dad warned me that with my anxiety the dementors might take a toll on me.” 

After she was able to regain her strength thanks to her friends, she was ready to get off the Hogwarts Express when they made it to the stations in Hogsmeade. Cedric was carrying her trunk to the carriages when she heard sniggering behind her. “Is it true, Lupin.” Terrance Higgs sneered from a carriage filled with Slytherin’s. “You collapsed from the dementors? We overheard Grace telling Penelope Clearewater that you needed something to drink because you almost fainted.”

Ophelia’s cheeks burned with embarrassment which must’ve been enough proof for the Slytherins who began to laugh loudly. The tears were prickling her eyes as she climbed into the carriage and turned her back onto the group of Slytherins. “You better shut your mouths before we go over there.” Fred called from his spot next to Ophelia.

“I’m just so scared, Weasley.” Adrian Pucey pretended to cry. “How about you duel like a wizard instead of a filthy muggle and we’ll see who comes out walking.”

“I personally loved seeing you knocked out from a punch.” George said cheerfully as the carriages began to move, taking the groups away from each other. 

When they got to the castle, Ophelia was just wanting to keep her head down and lay low. This seemed impossible as Professor McGonagall called her over immediately. The 5th year girl was also joined by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as they were ushered away from the chattering group of students. They followed the professor up the marble staircase into her office. She motioned for them all to sit down. “We heard from Professor Lupin and Penelope Clearwater that you had taken ill on the train, Potter, Lupin.” 

Madam Pomfrey bustled into the office before they could speak. Harry began to turn red. “I’m fine. I don't need anything--”

“I suppose you’ve been doing something dangerous again, Potter?” Pomfrey sniffed. 

“It was a dementor, Poppy.” Professor McGonagall said and the two older witches shared a look. 

“Setting dementors around a school, near children. These two won’t be the last ones who collapse or almost collapse. Yes, you both are clammy. Terrible things, they are, and the effect they have on people who are already delicate--”

“I’m not delicate!” Harry snapped at the Healer.

“Of course you’re not.” Pomfrey waved off the yell and began to check Harry’s pulse. 

Professor McGonagall was looking at Ophelia with a worried look. “What do you think, bed rest?”

“No. I want to go to the feast!” Ophelia complained as Harry jumped up from his chair shouting that he was fine. 

Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue. “Well… you two need to have some chocolate at least before you go.”

“I’ve already had some.” They said in unison before the two looked at each other in shock.

“Professor Lupin gave me some.” Harry said.

“He taught me a while ago that if a dementor attacks you need chocolate so I had some in my trunk.” Ophelia added.

“Did he, now? So we’ve finally got a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies.” Madam Pomfrey seemed pleased. “No wonder you want to become a healer, Ophelia.”

Professor McGonagall looked worried at the two students before sighing. “Alright. Well I need to have a quick word with Miss. Granger about her course schedule, then we can go down to the feast together.” 

Harry and Ophelia went into the corridor with Madam Pomfrey, who walked off to the hospital wing muttering about dementors. “My dad was on the train?” Ophelia asked Harry, feeling hurt that her father didn’t say hi to her at all but trying not to let it affect her since she knew that it was the day after the full moon and he would’ve been very tired.

“Er-- yea. I thought you knew that.”

“No.” She sniffed before Professor McGonagall and Hermione left her office. 

As Ophelia left the two Gryffindors, she skipped over to the Hufflepuff table to squeeze in between Cedric and Grace. “You missed the sorting!” Grace whined. 

Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak now that all of the students were present. “Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by your excellent feast. As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in their nature to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the dementors.” His eyes were looking at the sea of students. “On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.” There were applauses but a lot of whispers who knew Ophelia and made the connection that the professor in shabby robes was her father. “Secondly, the Care of Magical Creature professor is being filled by Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties.”

“I’m glad we took the class with Professor Kettleburn last year,” Jacob whispered. “I heard that Hagrid gave the lot biting books!”

Professor Dumbledore took the attention back after the applause died down. “Well I think that covers everything of importance. Let the feast… begin!”

The golden plates and goblets filled with the marvelous food that the house-elves prepared. Ophelia ate until she thought she was going to be sick before it was time for the Prefects to lead the houses to the common rooms. Grace and Cedric looked so funny to her as they were trying to lead the first-years to the basement. “They look like they're in over their head.” Jacob whispered to Ophelia as the two began to chuckle at their friends' panicked faces as they tried to keep all the eleven year old Hufflepuffs in line.

As Ophelia climbed through the whole into the Hufflepuff common room, she inhaled the fresh air that the many potted plants provided and smiled to herself.  _ Home _ . She was interrupted by her nostalgic thoughts as Cedric, Jacob, and Grace all grabbed her wrist and ran over to their favorite chairs to claim them before any other students did to play a couple hands of Exploding Snap before it was time to turn in for the night. 

* * *

The next morning, the Great Hall was buzzing with talk as the students compared their schedules for the school year. Ophelia was filled with nerves since this year was her OWLs year. She knew from her research on the Healer program that she needed to have either an Outstanding or Exceeds Expectations in Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. 

She scanned over the schedule and smiled when she saw that she would be with Gryffindor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and Charms. Hufflepuff had Transfiguration and Astronomy with Ravenclaw, and Potions with Slytherin. She was also taking Divination and Study of Ancient Runes. “You two are taking Divination, again?” Cedric wrinkled his eyebrow. “Professor Trewlaney is a little eclectic.” 

“Cedric… What's your time of birth?” Grace raised one of her eyebrows.

“Why?”

“So I know how to insult you based on your birth chart.” Grace snapped as she yanked her schedule back from Cedric who simply laughed in response. 

The group of friends went off to their first class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Fred and George took a desk next to Ophelia and Grace. “Oi, Ophelia. Think your dad is going to be weird about having you in class?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. I hope not.”

“What’s the rest of your schedule look like, O?” Fred asked as he stood up and sat on her desk. She got out the piece of parchment and showed him. “Damn. You lot got unlucky. Potions with Slytherin. That’s the worst combination in my opinion.” Fred handed her the parchment back.

“Mr. Weasley.” Her father said from the front of the class. “Please find your own seat so I can begin the lecture.” Ophelia’s face burnt red as her father got Fred to jump up and rush to his seat. Thankfully, he hadn’t been sarcastic back. “Now… I would like to welcome you all to your fifth year in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately, I’ve heard that you’ve lost a bit of learning from your last professor.” A few students in the class snickered at the memory of their last Professor in DADA, Lockhart who everyone now knew was a fraud. “I assure you that you will be learning all about the importance of protecting yourself against the Dark Arts. We will be covering ghouls, pixies, snakes, hex-deflections, tongue-tying curses, trip jinxes, deprimo, smokescreen spell, and many more important topics. I do want to recover some basics that the other Professors informed me that you didn’t really get a good instruction on such as boggarts, and the banishing spells that go with them. I know it may sound overwhelming right now, but I promise if you read the material and pay attention in class, you’ll do just fine.” He smiled at the class who seemed comforted by his presence. 

Pride swelled Ophelia’s chest as she copied down the notes when he dove into his lecture on ghouls and the history behind them. When they left the class, they were assigned an 8 inch parchment on their personal experience with ghouls and if they had none, some basic research from their textbooks. 

“I don’t think your dad likes when I sit on your desk.” Fred whispered into her ear as they were leaving the classroom.

Ophelia whacked his arm with her Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. “I wonder why. You’re such a flirt that has to be uncomfortable for him.”

“Oh, so you think I’m flirting?” He wiggled his eyebrows and jumped out of the way as she tried to throw another whack towards his direction. 

“Let’s go, Ophelia. We will be late to Potions.” Cedric gently grabbed her wrist and led her away from the laughing Gryffindor’s and towards the dungeons. “Ready to show off your skills to the Slytherin’s?”

She giggled and rolled her blue eyes. “I’m not a show off, am I? I would hate to come off that way.”

“No… no…” He reassured her with a pat on her back. “You’re the perfect amount of smart and helpful. They can’t help that they’re just so lost in Potions.”

“I remember when someone I know used to be like that.” She teased.

“I had a great teacher.” Cedric winked at her, which caused Ophelia to blush before they sat down with Grace and Jacob at a station.

“Get a room.” Pucey sneered from a station next to them. 

The Hufflepuff’s ignored them since Professor Snape swooped into the room and had them get straight to work on taking copious notes on Draught of Peace which would be their first Potion that they studied this year. Her hand was cramping when he let them go from the class. Her days were ended by a grueling Quidditch practice since Cedric wanted to make sure that they weren’t the laughing stock of Hogwarts this year. 

She was peaceful with the flow of her days. When she got into a routine, she would eat Breakfast with her dad in his office before going to her classes and ending with either a trip to the library or practice. It was exhausting and she knew that she had to be on her best behavior and pay close attention in class so that she could make it to the N.E.W.T. level classes that she needed to become a healer. When she had moments to herself, she found herself in the hospital wing, talking to Madam Pomfrey about classes and advice. It was a jam-packed schedule but she felt herself taking everything in stride. Ophelia was just happy to be back in her element, back at Hogwarts, her home. 


	31. Chapter Thirty-One: The Attack on Halloween

**Chapter Thirty-One: The Attack on Halloween**

Ophelia was so thankful for the Hogsmeade trip coming up to distract her from her busy schedule. She knew she liked being busy to keep her mind off of her anxieties, but she admitted she needed some relaxation. Fred and George were begging her to join them at Hogsmeade because they were planning a prank on the jack-o-lanterns that floated in the sky. She smiled softly, “I promised Grace and Cedric that I would join them to the Three Broomsticks. Would you mind meeting us there?”

Fred scowled and looked over the girls’ shoulders at Cedric and Jacob who were talking at the desk to the left of them about the upcoming Quidditch matches. “Of course, you and Cedric always are together.” 

Grace giggled quietly to herself while Ophelia’s face burned bright red. “What are you going on about? He’s my friend, just like you and George.”

He opened his mouth to say something else but her father cleared his throat at the front of the class, signalling that it was about to start. “Good morning. Would you please put all your books back into your bags. Today we will be having a practical lesson. You will need only your wands. Follow me.” 

The students put away their things quickly and followed him out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and around the corner. He took them into an empty classroom with a large and shaking wardrobe. “Now… I understand that you were not all successful in casting the Boggart-Banishing Spell when Professor Quirrel attempted to teach it to you. The charm is tricky, because it involves making the creature into a figure of fun, so that fear can be dispelled in amusement. If the caster is able to laugh aloud at the Boggart, it will disappear. The incantation is ‘Riddikulus’, and the intention is to force a Boggart to assume a less-threatening and hopefully comical form.”

Ophelia’s heart sank. No. They couldn’t be doing Boggart’s right now. What would her father’s reaction be to seeing the werewolf spring out from the wardrobe. “Can I have a volunteer?” Her father smiled at the crowd.

Angelina Johnson raised her hand and walked forward with her wand in her hand. “I can try, sir.”

“Excellent! A point to Gryffindor for your participation. Now… I want you to think of your fear but then think of something funny. Alright?” His eyebrows raised up waiting for Angelina to signal that she was ready. 

She raised her chin at the shaking wardrobe as her father released the lock on it, sending the Boggart out. When it locked onto the brave girl in red-trimmed robes, it spun around violently until it turned into a large snake. Angelina raised her wand and in a strong voice, cried out, “RIDDIKULUS _!”  _ The snake turned into a balloon snake and slowly floated in the air which caused a few giggles in the crowd. 

Her father was cheering, “Excellent work! Lee! Forward!”

Lee Jordan walked forward, his face set. Where the balloon snake was, now came a vampire with blood dripping down it’s face. Lee cast the spell and it turned into a clown with red makeup instead of blood. 

“Great work! Grace! You next.” Her father clapped his hands for the Gryffindor as her friend walked forward with shaky knees.

The clown turned into a mummy that was walking slowly towards the Hufflepuff girl. Grace looked like she was going to throw up. “Think of something funny, Grace!” Her father reminded her before she straightened her shoulders and gulped. “ _ RIDDIKULUS!” _ The mummy began to unravel and the white wrapping turned into confetti instead. 

“Excellent! Cedric you next. Come on.” Her father gave Grace a high five before she skipped back next to Ophelia.

When Cedric stood in front of the Boggart, it transformed and turned into Ophelia herself. She caught her breath and stared at her friend in confusion until her voice opened up and began to speak to Cedric. “As If I would think you were good enough for me.” Then the Boggart spun and turned into his father. “You need to prove yourself more! Do you think you’ve done well for the Diggory name.” It spun again and turned into his mother. “You’re such a disappointment.” It spun again and turned back into Ophelia. “I hate you for what you did.” It kept on this rotation, spinning into the three people and taunting him. 

“It’s not real, Ced!” Ophelia shouted from the group of onlookers as his face crumpled. “You’re amazing! Think of something funny!”

Cedric stared at the real Ophelia like a life line before he took a deep breath and casted the Boggart-Banishing Spell. His mother turned into a 2-D version of herself before she folded and became an origami folding and fluttered into the air. “Well done, Cedric!” Her father cheered with an odd look in his eye. “Kenneth! You next!”

As Kenneth was up, Ophelia turned to Cedric and squeezed his hand. “Are you alright?” 

He nodded his head with a smile. “Thanks for helping me. I needed it.”

“You’re amazing. Don’t forget it.” She squeezed his hand harder, before dropping it as Kenneth was walking back to the group and her father was calling her own name.

She gulped and walked up to the Boggart. She thought it would turn into a werewolf but then something strange happened. She was thinking about the Chamber of Secrets and how horrifying it was that Ginny had almost died. Soon enough, the Boggart was changing people like how it did for Cedric. But none of the Boggarts were talking, they were all lying on the ground. Dead. First it was Ginny, then her father, then Fred and George, then Cedric, then Grace, and on and on of all the people she loved. Dead. “Think of something funny, Ophelia.” Her father urged as the panic rose into her throat.

What even was the spell? She closed her eyes briefly, ignoring the image that was flashing faster now as all of the Weasley’s flashed dead in front of her. “R-R-”

The real Fred jumped in front of her and the Boggart changed into his own twin, dead. “RIDIKULUS!” The Boggart George turned into a firework and put on a show in the sky.

“Excellent work, Er-- Mr. Weasley!” Her father called. “Other Mr. Weasley, you next.”

“It’s George. Sir.” George smiled as Fred helped Ophelia back to the group. 

After class when they walked back to gather their things, her father asked to speak to her. “Are you alright, O?”

“I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want you treating me differently than any other student, dad.” She hugged her Defense Against the Dark Arts book tighter on her chest.

“I would’ve checked on any of my students who had such a traumatizing Boggart experience like yourself.” He smiled at her. “I wouldn’t do this however, but since your my daughter, I can.” He wrapped his arms around her in a hug and let her cry into his chest. “It’ll be okay dear. Your friends and family are safe.”

* * *

That weekend, when it was time to go to Hogsmeade she couldn’t have been more thankful. News got around of how dark her Boggart was and the Slytherins had made a field day out of it in Potions class before even Snape told them to stop harassing her. Apparently, someone as cold as Snape could sympathize with how traumatizing seeing your friends dead would be.

Grace and Cedric were pinning their Prefect pins to their jackets as they all walked to the village. “Do you have to wear that all the time?” Jacob complained.

“Well actually, yes.” Cedric said. “It’s so if a younger student has a question they can identify us.”

Ophelia and Jacob rolled their eyes. Ophelia couldn’t hide that she was hurt that Grace was asked to be a Prefect and not herself. She had better grades than Grace. She wondered if Professor Sprout took into account that her best friends were the Weasley twins and that is why she wasn’t picked. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind as they walked into Honeydukes and loaded up on the precious candy.

When they were done, they went into the Three Broomsticks and had some foamy Butterbeer. Ophelia and Grace opted to try the Halloween themed, Pumpkin flavored Butterbeer and were amazed at how it was so similar to some Pumpkin Pie. They drank and chatted with tears in their eyes as they made each other laugh. Ophelia rested her head on Cedric’s shoulder as her eyes drifted shut, exhausted from the Boggart experience and her late night studying. She jumped up with a flash of light.

“Oops! Didn’t mean to wake you.” Grace blushed as she put her wizarding camera down. “Figured it would make for a cute picture!”

“Sorry, Ced.” Ophelia blushed as she went back to drinking her Butterbeer and rested her head on the back of the booth instead of her friend's shoulder.

“Oh… don’t apologize. I didn’t mind.” He smiled down at her which made her blush harder. 

As they were walking out of the pub to go back to the castle, they got a glimpse of Fred and George’s big break. The jack-o-lanterns were no bewitched to throw insults and jokes at the people who walked by. They were cracking up with laughter as Pucey and Higgs were getting insulted as they tried to run past the pumpkins. When Grace and Ophelia began to walk by, they were startled when the jack-o-lanterns wolf-whistled at them. “I’m going to kill those Weasley’s.” Ophelia laughed as Grace flicked her dark hair over her shoulder.

“Oh take the compliment. They know pretty Hufflpuff’s when they see them.” Grace blew a kiss at the jack-o-lanterns as if it was a real person which made the other three laugh.

In the castle, they all enjoyed a calm Halloween feast before going back to their common rooms. Jacob was in the middle of a ghost story when Professor Sprout came storming in, telling them to change into their night robes immediately and head to the Great Hall. She called over the Prefects and talked to them privately which led Ophelia by herself on her way to the Great Hall since Jacob was with the boys. 

Ophelia sighed as she threw on an over-sized Hufflepuff Quidditch shirt and some black pajama pants before throwing her night robe over top and walked to the Great Hall. The Gryffindor house was already there and she approached the twins and Lee Jordan who were all talking quietly to each other. “What’s going on?”

Fred looked at Ophelia with dark eyes. “Fat Lady vanished from her portrait, it was slashed that the canvas was all over the floor.”

“Peeves told Dumbledore that Sirius Black is the one who did it.” George added.

It was as if she jumped into the Black Lake. She was freezing with dread. Mr. Weasley’s warning to her rang in her ear about Black and she knew that he was a mad individual since he escaped Azkaban. She opened her mouth to ask the boys a question when Dumbledore himself appeared in the hall. “The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle. I’m afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately. Send word with one of the ghosts.”

With a casual wave of his wand, the long tables flew to the edges of the room and purple sleeping bags covered the floor. As the Gryffindors began to fill in more people the Great Hall was a buzz of noise before Percy shouted. “Everyone into their sleeping bags! Come on now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!”

Ophelia climbed into her bag and the four students put them into a circle so their heads were in the middle. Ophelia was in between Fred and George as they all got comfortable. “How the hell did he get into Hogwarts?”

“Maybe he knows how to Apparate. Just appear out of thin air.” Lee suggested.

“You can’t Apparate in or out of Hogwarts, I read about that. Has to be something else.”

“Disguised himself?” Fred suggested. 

“But there are all sorts of enchantments on the castle to stop people from entering by stealth or apparition. Also think of the dementors! He somehow got past them and the enchantments? It just makes me nervous. What do you think he was even after?” She began to panic, her breathing at a rapid speed when Percy’s voice called for lights out. 

The candles went out and the only light in the Great Hall was coming from the stars, moon, and the ghost that were floating over the students. She began to hyperventilate, thinking about the deranged prisoner who was inside the castle walls at this very minute. She didn’t even realize she was crying until Fred had scooted his sleeping bag closer to her so that he could wipe the tears off of her cheeks. “Ophelia? I know you’re scared… but… it’ll be alright.” He held out his hand and she clasped it like it was a life line that was keeping her from sinking into a sea of anxiety. 

She didn’t know when, but somehow she fell asleep through the night with the comfort of Fred’s hand in hers. They held hands throughout the entire night and when they were woken up by sunlight and the giggle of a very tired Grace, who had been guarding the entrance all night with the other Prefects, they sprang apart. Both of their cheeks were bright red although Fred was playing like he didn’t care. “Cute. Wish I had my camera.” Grace winked as she helped Ophelia up and return to the common room. 


	32. Thirty-Two: Gryffindor Vs. Hufflepuff

**Thirty-Two: Gryffindor Vs. Hufflepuff**

Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey, and Graham Montague cornered Cedric and Ophelia as they were in the library at their favorite oak table working on a Potions paper. “Diggory.” The Slytherin captain greeted the Hufflepuff one coldly.

“Flint.” Cedric nodded his head.

“Good to see you two, Flint.” Ophelia grumbled as she rolled her eyes. “What do you friendly Slytherin’s want?” Her sarcasm was thick in her voice which made Cedric chuckle at her side.

“We came to speak to the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, of course.” Marcus sneered. “Which isn’t you.”

“Be nice to Ophelia.” Cedric said as he sat up straighter and he furrowed his eyebrows. “If you’re going to be rude, you can just leave.”

“Flint is just stressed. Aren’t you?” Pucey smiled fakely at the captain who curled up the corner of his lip in response. “We don’t come as enemies. Just asking a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” Cedric asked, now curious. 

Flint sighed. “Our Seeker Malfoy is still injured from that stupid Hippogriff and we are supposed to play Gryffindor tomorrow. We were hoping that you Hufflepuff’s would take our place and we would play Gryffindor later in the season when you are supposed to.”

“That seems fair.” Cedric nodded. “We hope that Malfoy is healed for the upcoming match you play. It’s not a fair win unless your entire team is healthy.”

Flint laughed bitterly. “Yes. Well thanks. If you could sign this paper saying that you agree to the trade so I can give it to Madam Hooch.”

Cedric nodded and signed his name to the trade paperwork with his neat and flourishing handwriting. As they walked away, Ophelia sighed. 

“What?” Cedric demanded.

“They’re using you.”

“How so?”

“They just don’t want to play in this weather. Malfoy is fine, I heard Ron and Harry talking about it.” She glanced out the library windows at the rainy and windy weather which showed no sign of getting calmer. There was other disappointment in her words, the trade meant her dad wouldn’t be able to watch since tonight was the night of the full moon and he was in the Shrieking Shack transforming into a werewolf. 

“Well… we better get going and let the team know.” He gathered his things as Ophelia followed suit. “Sorry, I know I’m gullible sometimes but I just like to look at the best in people.”

“Don’t apologize, Ced. That’s what makes you amazing. You’re a true Hufflepuff.” She patted his arm which made him beem. 

The next day, as they were changing into their canary yellow robes, the team was grumbling about the weather. The wind was so strong that when they walked towards the pitch, Cedric had to catch Ophelia from falling over. Rain was splattering on her Quidditch goggles and it was almost impossible to see. Oliver and Cedric shook hands and Madam Hooch informed the teams to mount their brooms. 

When the whistle went off, it took a moment for Ophelia to get into the air since her feet sunk into the mud when she pushed off. Despite the rain, she was determined to make Hufflepuff proud. The wind was so loud, she couldn’t even hear Lee’s commentary. When Heidi tossed her the Quaffle, she could hardly aim at the hoops that Wood was guarding. She threw the Quaffle in earning Hufflepuff 10 points. The crowd cheering for them cheered, although it sounded quiet compared to the howling wind in her ears. 

She went flying again as Maxine O’Flaherty beat a bludger that was only a couple feet away from her. “Watch out, Lupin! These are awful today with the low visibility. Don’t want you visiting the Hospital Wing.”

Ophelia gulped as she realized what close of a call she just encountered. As she leaned down against her broomstick, she took off towards another canary-yellow robe when she got closer she noticed it was Malcom Preece trying to fly toward the guarded Gryffindor hoops. When they were close, Malcom’s broom got hit with a bludger that was smacked towards the two by one of the Weasley’s, it was impossible to say who in the rain. The Quaffle fell into Angelina’s waiting hands below them. 

The game was almost impossible to follow along with the lack of sight and sound to see the scoreboard. Unless Ophelia made a score herself, she couldn’t tell what the score was. She knew they for sure had made one shot but after that, she wasn’t sure. 

Malcom Preece was flying in front of her with the Quaffle tucked into his arm when a bludger came again towards him, smacked by one of the twins, into his arm. Despite the wind, she could hear the shattering of bones and watched as Malcom’s face turned white before he threw the Quaffle to Ophelia and went down to the ground, to call in Ernie to substitute for him. 

She drove towards the hoops when a Bludger came screaming towards her. This time, Anthony Rickett was there to hit the bludger away towards Oliver Wood who had to dive out of the way at the same time that Ophelia launched the Quaffle through the hoop. “Nice one, Lupin!” Anthony gave her a smile as she returned the compliment.

With the first flash of lightning, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the teams landed to the ground into the mud. Wood had called for a time out it seemed. Cedric cleaned his goggles when they were huddled. “We are down by 50 points. If Harry or I don’t catch the Snitch soon it looks like we are going to be playing into the night. Try and catch up the score with them in case Harry catches the snitch before I do. Heidi” 

When the timeout was over, the teams went to soar into the sky once more. Fred and George flew by Ophelia and gave her a wink before diving towards bludgers to aim towards her team. There was another loud crack of thunder as Ophelia dove towards Alicia Spinnet to steal the Quaffle. Just as she got possession and flew towards the hoops, she saw Cedric flying down the field after a bit of gold.  _ Please catch the snitch _ . She wished in her head as she sank another Quaffle through the hoops. 

Everyone froze and watched as Harry was gaining on Cedric on his Nimbus. The wind however, was growing stronger and the field was getting colder. Ophelia had that same horrible sensation of the loss of joy. A sickening feeling went through her chest as she saw a hundred dementors below Cedric and Harry all swarming the Seekers. Once Harry got sight of them, he slumped and then fell off his broom. 

Dumbledore’s voice boomed across the pitch as he let out a spell to slow down Harry as he fell into the grass. Everyone was frantic, trying to see if the Gryffindor boy was okay. Cedric came down from his spot and looked at Harry with panic in his eyes. “I didn’t know he fell! I wouldn’t have caught the snitch if I knew he fell!” Madam Hooch didn’t care, she called the game with a Hufflepuff win with the final score being 190-90. 

As the teams headed towards the Hospital Wing, Gryffindor following Harry who was unconscious and Hufflepuff following Malcom Preece who was suffering from a broken arm from a bludger, the Professors were getting rid of the dementors from the field. 

Ophelia sat, still in her Quidditch robes, waiting for Malcom’s bones to heal. They were cracking jokes about how he took one for the team and they should celebrate tonight in the common room for a Hufflepuff win. Cedric however, was looking annoyed that they were all celebrating. “It feels like we cheated.”

They quieted down as they heard Harry Potter stirring from a few cots down. The Gryffindors were feeling in Harry on what happened at the match. Madam Pomfrey came out and shooed the team away from Harry before coming over to Malcolm. “You lot, too. Out. They need to rest.”

Ophelia gave Malcom a smile and gave him words of encouragement like the rest of the Hufflepuffs before they left the Hospital Wing. Cedric was talking to Heidi and Eddie as they all walked back to the common room. “Good going, shattering Malcom’s arm.” Ophelia chidded at the twins as she walked by.

“All is fair in Quidditch.” George smirked. “Good game. By the way.”

“Thanks. Cedric and I seem to be the only ones who want a rematch. How’s Harry?” She took off her wrist guard and rubbed her sore joints.

“He’s up now. Madam Pomfrey thinks he’ll be okay but he just needs some rest.” Fred sighed and leaned his head against the stone wall. “Wood would be devastated to see us talking to the enemy right now, he’s currently drawing himself in the showers that we lost to you lot.”

Ophelia had to bite her lip to hold back her laughter. “Well… I wouldn’t stop talking to you guys over Quidditch. And I would hope to get the same treatment.” 

“How come your dad wasn’t at the match? You played great.” Fred asked as the group began to walk towards the Great Hall to grab some food for their rumbling stomachs.

“Er-- he’s not feeling well still.” She gave the half-lie as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. “That’s why Snape was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts on Friday.”

“Well that’s a shame.” George said as he bit into a honeycrisp apple. “Hope he’s feeling better soon.”

“Yea. I can’t stand Snape teaching DADA anymore.” Fred pretended to shudder. “The horror!”

They began to joke around and plan their adventure for the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Fred and George were being very secretive but told Ophelia that they needed to gift the map to someone before they went. This peeked Ophelia’s curiosity because they had been using the map for years now. It was their most prized possession.

They refused to tell her who it was until the day of the Hogsmeade trip. The three of them were hiding behind a statue of a hump-backed, one-eyed witch which was rather cramped since the twins had grown so tall over the years. “Psst-- Harry!” Fred called out.

“What are you doing?” He asked curiously. “How come you’re not going to Hogsmeade?”

“We’ve come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go,” Fred said with a wink. “Come in here…” The twins led Harry and Ophelia into an empty classroom behind the statue. 

“Early Christmas present for you, Harry.” George said with a smile on his freckled face.

Fred pulled out the map from his back pocket and laid in on the desk in front of them. Harry eyed it with suspicion, which she didn’t blame him since the twins were known for their pranks. “What’s this rubbish?” He asked, looking at the blank piece of parchment. 

“That, Harry, is the secret of our success.” George said as he looked lovingly at the parchment. 

“It’s horribly difficult to separate and give it to you. But we decided that your needs are greater than ours.” Fred sighed. 

“Anyway we know it by heart now. We don’t really need it anymore.” George continued.

“And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?” Harry asked with a look of insanity in his eyes as he looked at the twins as if they were hit in the back of the head by a bludger. 

“It’s not just a piece of parchment, Harry.” Ophelia explained since the twins were just toying with him. “It’s a map. Watch…”

George got out his wand and cleared his throat. “I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.” 

At once, the ink began to spread like a spider’s web from the point of George’s wand to across the pages, creating the words on the front of the map that Ophelia had read so many times before.  _ Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. Surveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present: THE MARAUDER’S MAP _ . “It took us a while to guess how to make it work, but once the map stopped insulting us, I think it realized we weren’t a teacher and began to give us hints on how to uncover the secrets.” Fred smiled fondly at the map.

George pointed to where they were standing. “If you follow this path…” he led his finger towards a secret passageway. “It’ll take you to Hogsmeade! You have to be careful because Filch knows about these four. Don’t bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. WE used it until last winter, but it caved in. We reckon no one used this one, because the Whomping Willow’s planted right over the entrance. But this one here, is our favorite, it leads right into the Honeydukes cellar. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.” Fred sighed. “We owe them so much.” 

Fred added. “Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of law-breakers.” 

“Don’t forget to wipe it after you’ve used it or anyone can read it.” Ophelia warned.

“Oh yea.” Fred looked at the map and pulled out his wand. “Just tap it again and say,  _ MISCHIEF MANAGED _ . And it’ll go blank.”

George put his nose in the air and with his best Percy impersonation he said to Harry. “So, young Harry…” Fred joined in now on the impression. “Mind you behave yourself.” They began to laugh as Ophelia smiled at the boy with black hair.

“Hopefully we’ll see you at Honeydukes!” She called out to him as the older students left the younger boy as he was gazing at the map.

“I feel like I just did charity work.” Fred smiled happily as they walked into Hogsmeade to go to Zonko’s shop to buy more Filibuster Fireworks. 

After Fred and George spent all their money in their pockets, they walked into Honeydukes. Ophelia sighed at the lovely smell that filled the shop. She was eyeing the shelves of creamy chunks of nougat, pink squares of coconut ice, honey-colored toffee, and sherbert balls. She was pondering what she wanted to buy and decided to go with some toffee, fudge flies, drooble’s best blowing gum, a block of homemade honeydukes chocolate and fragile sugar-spun quills. She even snuck a chocolate frog each into the twins pockets while they weren’t looking. 

After that, they wandered to the Three Broomsticks to relax before it was time to go back to the castle. Ophelia ordered them each a Butterbeer and they sat at a small table by a fire to warm up. As the door opened, it sent a chill as well. The group turned around to see Professor McGonagall and Flitwick walk into the pub with Hagrid. “Oi, looks like the teachers are cutting loose.” Fred joked which sent some Butterbeer up Ophelia’s nose. 

They unfortunately were sitting next to Ron, Hermione, and Harry’s table. Ophelia thanked Godric Gryffindor that Hermione was smart enough to move the Christmas tree with magic to cover up Harry Potter from McGonagall who was sure to know he shouldn’t be at the pub right now. 

The teachers began to order and Madame Rosmertta joined them after she set down the drinks. They were talking for a while before Hagrid was in such destress that he was shouting so half the pub could hear. “Filthy, stinkin’ turncoat! I met him! I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me that rescued Harry from Lily an’ Jame’s house after they was killed! Jus’ got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an’ his parents dead… an’ Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin’ motorcycle he used to ride. He seemed so shaken up and I COMFORTED THE MURDERIN’ TRAITOR!” 

Professor McGonagall was telling Hagrid to keep his voice down but it was no use. Ophelia, along with some other patrons, were now fully invested in the conversation between the professors. “How was I ter know he wasn’t upset abou’ Lily an’ James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou’! An’ then he says, ‘Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I’m his godfather, I’ll look after him-- Ha! But I’d had my orders from Dumbledore, an’ I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an’ uncle’s. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. ‘I won’t need it anymore,’ he says. I shoulda known there was somethin’ goin’ on then. He loved that motorbike. Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he’d bin the Potters’ Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin’ ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o’ hours before the Ministry was after him.”

Madam Rosmerta asked, “But he didn’t manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him the next day!”

“Alas, if only we had.” Fudge said bitterly. “It was not we who found him. It was little Petter Pettigrew-- another of the Potters’ friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters’ Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself. Sirius was mad and created an entire crater in the middle of the muggle street. All they found was a finger left of Pettigrew. Black’s mad… That wasn’t the only friend he had killed. Black was the one who murdered the McKinnon family to prove his loyalty to the dark-lord. Thankfully, Marlene’s daughter was being watched by her father’s grandparents that day and was spared.” Professor McGonagall blew her nose as Madam Rosmertta gasped. Fudge took a long drag from his firewhiskey before sighing. “There you have it, Rosmertta. Black was taken by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black’s been in Azkaban ever since for the first hand responsibility of killing Peter Pettigrew, Marlene McKinnon and her family, and a dozen muggles. He was also charged for aiding You-Know-Who in the murder of James and Lily Potter.” 

There were awkward sighs before Professor McGonagall reminded Fudge that he better get to Hogwarts since he was dining with the headmaster. As they left, Fred and George stared at Ophelia. “O… are you okay?”

There were tears, glistening silently down her face. 

Sirius Black was the man who murdered her aunt.

Sirius Black was the man who murdered her grandparents.

Sirius Black was the man who murdered  _ her mother. _


	33. Chapter Thirty-Three: Christmas with the Weasley’s

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Christmas with the Weasley’s**

“Your brother is staying at Hogwarts over Christmas? Why?” Ophelia asked the twins as they sat in her favorite nook behind the tapestry, watching the snowfall into fat clumps onto the ground. 

“Dunno.” Fred said as he popped another fudge fly into his mouth. “Mum is sad. We are going to be missing a Weasley at Christmas. Bill will be visiting since we saw him over the Summer in Egypt.”

“You should come, Ophelia!” George cheered as he took a long drag of pumpkin juice from the canister in his hand that she had taken from the Great Hall. “Unless of course your dad is staying here for the Holiday’s.” 

“No… Dad hasn’t been feeling well so he was just going to lay low.” She frowned and looked at her shoes, she hated lying but knew she couldn’t just say that he was going to be transforming into a werewolf.

“It’s settled. You’ll sign up to go home with us for the Holiday!” Fred cheered and tossed a Bertie Bott bean towards her mouth, which she caught and bit into, overwhelmed by the taste of sweet potato casserole. 

“Are you sure your mother won’t mind? I would hate to inconvenience her…”

“Nonsense!” The twins cheered together. 

The three of them all began to make plans about sledding and snowball fights at the Burrow. On her way up to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where her father’s office was, she passed Ginny Weasley and pinched the girl gently on the elbow before telling her the good news. “Guess who’s going to be bothering you all Christmas break!”

“Excellent!” Ginny cheered and wrapped her arms around Ophelia’s neck. “We can talk boys and do all the things that my brothers refuse to do.”

“It shocks me they won’t talk about boys with you. “ She joked as she continued up the corridor towards the classroom.

When she knocked on the door, her father called her in. “Ophelia! What a wonderful surprise!”

She smiled and sat at the wooden chair in front of his desk that was filled with first-year papers about pixie’s. “Would I be able to go to the Weasley’s over the Holiday?”

He paused with his red quill, “Did they invite you?”

“I would never invite myself. Of course.”

“Which Weasley invited you.” He asked while trying to maintain a neutral expression.

“Ginny.” She lied.

“Oh… well… in that case… I would hate for you to be separated from your friend.” He blushed slightly before regaining his composure. “Sorry, I guess I just assumed someone else invited you. I’ll write to Arthur tonight and ask if it’s okay.”

“Thanks, dad!” She paused, not wanting to stand just yet. She hadn’t brought up the Hogsmeade trip and she thought now was a good time since they were alone. “Dad… did you know Sirius Black growing up?”

His quill fell out of his hand. “Why do you ask?”

“I overheard some Professors talking to the Minister of Magic at Hogsmeade. He killed… a lot of people… He killed… mom.” She furrowed her brows and looked at his twitching fingers.

“Yes.” Her father sighed and looked at her sadly. “I didn’t want you to find out this way. I was going to wait until you were older.”

“Do you think he would’ve killed me?” She looked her father in the eye and he held her gaze. “Do you think he was disappointed I wasn’t with mom?”

“I don’t want you thinking about that.” He said in a low whisper. “You’re here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you. That’s a promise.” 

He walked around the desk and gave Ophelia a hug. Her tears began to flow down her cheeks and she cursed under her breath for crying so much the past couple weeks. “I promise I’ll be safe, dad. I don’t want anyone to hurt you, either.”

“I’ve survived a war. It’ll take a lot more than one prisoner to take me down.” He said in a hollow voice. “Sirius Black won’t hurt me.”

* * *

The Burrow was being decorated by the Weasley’s with paper chains and snowflakes. Ginny and Ophelia were gossiping about how she had a crush on Dean Thomas and Harry Potter. Ophelia began to laugh, “Ron would be livid if he found out, his best friend and his roommate! They’re also older than you!” 

“Shh… it’s our secret!” Ginny made her pinky promise. “Who do you have a crush on?”

“It’s complicated.” Ophelia bit her bottom lip to try and stop the smile from growing on her face. “I don’t know how I feel exactly.”

“Oh come on, that’s such a cop out answer.” Ginny complained. “Are you a loyal friend, or not.” She crossed her arms over the jumper that depicted a roaring Gryffindor lion.

“Ginny… please don’t make me say.” Ophelia laid back on the woven rug in the living room and closed her eyes. 

The red-head girl sensed that she got her close to a breaking point and laid down next to her. “Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.”

“OKAY! Just shhh.” Ophelia threw her hand over Ginny’s mouth who licked it in response. “Gross!”

“Well… I’m waiting.” She sang with a wicked smile on her face.

The Hufflepuff girl leaned in close to Ginny’s ear. “I think I like two people.”

“Oooo tell me!”

“Alright, don’t get your robes in a knot. You can’t react. At. All.” 

“I won’t!”

“Swear on Godric Gryffindor’s grave that you won’t tell anyone. Not even your brothers.”

“I swear! Come on, O. I’m dying over here.”

The girls stared into each other's eyes from their spot on the rug before Ophelia finally gave in and got close to her friend's ear. “I think… and a big emphasis is needed on the word think because I’m too busy with school to be caring about boys… but… I think I like Cedric--”

“I knew it!” Ginny squealed which made Ophelia jump back. “I knew it! I just knew it! You two would be so cute! But wait… you said there was another.”

“I was going to tell you before you freaked out. Now I’m scared to tell you the second name.” Ophelia closed her blue eyes tightly as her face began to burn from embarrassment.

“Why? It’s not like you like one of my brothers.”

She didn’t say anything in response. 

“Oh my bloody hell… you’re joking. Ophelia Lupin, do you like one of my brothers?” Ginny sat up with her eyes wide open and her mouth forming a perfect O in disbelief. “You’re joking. Please tell me you’re joking.”

Ophelia put her hands over her eyes. “I told you I didn’t want to tell you the second name. Besides, I’m not even sure how I feel and you’re blowing this up way out of proportion.” 

“I’m sorry. I won’t react. Not even a little. Please tell me!” Ginny begged her with her freckled hands clasped in front of her chest. “Please!”

“Okay.” Ophelia sat up so the girls were staring into each other’s eyes. “Don’t react. I think I have a small crush on Fred.”

“OH MY GODRIC! ON FR--”

Ophelia lunged on top of the girl and covered her mouth with her hand. “YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T REACT! BE QUIET!”

“Girls.” Mrs. Weasley burst into the room with the sudden yelling going on. “Is everything alright in here?” She raised a red eyebrow as she saw Ginny and Ophelia wrestling on the ground.

“Yes, Mum!” Ginny sang smugly as she wiggled out from below the Hufflepuff girl’s grip. “We were just messing around.”

“Well… hurry up. It’s almost time for Christmas Eve dinner.” She smiled at the girls before bustling back into the kitchen to get finished with all of the cooking. 

Ginny and Ophelia just stared at each other for a moment. Ginny had a mischievous grin on her face that was growing larger with each second pacing. “You know… if you married him we would become sister-in-laws. We could actually be sisters!”

“Don’t you think I’m a bit young to be thinking of marriage? I’m only 16, Gin.” She rolled her eyes as she cleaned up the paper scraps that they had been cutting up. 

“Marriage? Who’s getting married?” George asked as he jumped over the old couch to sit down in front of the girls.

Ginny’s smile got bigger and as she opened her mouth, Ophelia didn’t even think before she acted as she tackled the young girl. “You promised, Ginny!”

Her laughter filled the living room as she tried to wiggle from underneath Ophelia. “What’s going on in here?” Percy asked with a voice of annoyance. “Could you two act your age? I mean honestly Ophelia, aren’t you a fifth year?”

The girls sat up and shot death stares at Percy. “Oh live a little.” Ginny joked as she helped her friend up off the rug. 

Ophelia sat down at the table next to Ginny. They were staring intensely at each other as Ginny opened her mouth when the boys say down, Ophelia whispered to her. “If you say a single word, I’ll tell your brothers.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” Ginny snarled.

“Want to bet?”

“Girls… it’s Christmas.” Bill chidded at them as he loaded his plate with mashed potatoes. “Leave the hostility elsewhere.”

Charlie laughed. “Honestly, Ophelia. What’s gotten you so riled up. I don’t think I’ve seen a Hufflepuff this angry since I called Tonks by her first name in our first year.” 

“Oh it’s nothing.” The two girls said in unison before the boys just looked at them like they were going insane. 

After dinner, the group spent time in the living room around the newly decorated tree. Mr. Weasley was delighted with his new early Christmas present from the Lupin’s, a muggle Christmas record. They were listening to some Christmas classics that Mr. Weasley was just so enthusiastic to learn the words to. Ophelia was braiding Ginny’s hair in front of the fire as they watched Fred and George provide a Christmas themed firework show. 

After they were done, the family all clapped and cheered as they bowed like they were on center stage at a play. They sat down by the fire in front of the girls which only made Ginny begin to giggle profusely. “What’s been up with you lately?” Fred asked her. “You’ve been acting odd.”

“I can’t say.” Ginny sang as she jumped up to go grab a Christmas cookie.

“Do you know what’s up with her?” George asked.

Ophelia shook her head, guilty. “No idea.” She coughed as she twirled her constellation ring around her finger.

“You’re lying, Lupin. You’re nervous, too.” Fred accused eyeing her ring. 

She slapped her hand over her nervous tell and cleared her throat. “What if I am? Ginny and I can have secrets.”

“That’s not fair!” The twins complained.

She shrugged and smiled smugly at the looks of disappointment on their faces. “Sorry, boys. I’m sure you keep secrets from me.”

Before they could protest, she skipped over to Ginny who was talking to Charlie and they had matching smirks on. “Ginny… want to play a game of Exploding Snap.”

The two sat in front of the fire, playing Exploding Snap on the Weasley’s rug until Mrs. Weasley was telling the lot to go to bed. Bill and Charlie were complaining that they were adults but were immediately shut down by her fiers glare. The group went to their bedrooms we complaints as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said their goodnights. 

Ginny yanked Ophelia into her room. “Will you please tell them?”

“No. I wasn’t even going to tell you!”

“It would be so amazing if you and Fred dated!” Ginny complained loudly and Ophelia threw her hand over her mouth.

“I don’t know if I like him more than I like Cedric. Besides, I don’t want to date anyone right now because my dad works at bloody Hogwarts. Do you know how awkward that would be if your dad walked in on you snogging someone?” 

“Just don’t snog them at Hogwarts?”

“Gin, you walked in on Percy of all people snogging Penelope. You know that it just happens at that school.” Ophelia shook her head and laid down on her little cot. “Now, go to bed.”

The next morning, Ginny woke up Ophelia by throwing a pillow at her face. “It’s Christmas! Wake up! Wake up!”

The girls ran to the living room and got a good seat on the loveseat. Mrs. Weasley was passing out mugs of coffee to Mr. Weasley and Ophelia and a hot chocolate for Ginny. They were joined by the boys who were still in their pajamas like the girls. They all sat passionately while Mr. Weasley flicked his wand and the presents from under the tree flew out in front of the respective people they belonged to. 

Soon it was a frenzy of gift wrapping paper and tissue paper going flying around the living room as the children opened up their presents. Ophelia was happy to find another Weasley jumper. This one was beautifully crafted in a bright blue like the color of her eyes with a white O on the front. 

From her father, she got a package from Honeydukes of chocolate and a new pair of quills to write with. From Cedric, she got a beautiful necklace that was a simple silver chain with a fighting badger that was smaller than a sickle hanging on the chain. Grace seemed to communicate with him with the gifts because she got her a silver bangle that had a yellow H on it for Hufflepuff with a little note that said she has a matching one that she’s been waiting to wear until Ophelia had hers. 

Ginny eyed her and looked at the bracelet. “I want a Gryffindor one!”

“I’ll ask Grace where she got it and maybe for your birthday I’ll get you one.” Ophelia ruffled her red hair and looked down lovingly at the presents. 

“Okay Weasley’s! Picture time!” Mrs. Weasley called out. 

Ophelia stood out of the way before Mr. Weasley looked at her strangely. “Ophelia… get in the picture.”

“Oh… okay.” She smiled and stood in front of the twins and next to Ginny who grabbed her hand tightly. 

She felt one of the twins put a hand on her shoulder as everyone shouted, “Merry Christmas!” together as the camera captured the shot. “Beautifully done, Weasleys!” Molly cheered as she flicked her wand and had all of the paper cleaned up before sending everyone to the table for breakfast. 

Charlie and Ginny sat next to Ophelia for breakfast. They were smiling while everyone was passing around the fruit, eggs, and bacon. “Ophelia… shouldn’t you be getting used to being in Weasley family pictures?” Charlie joked which made Ginny choke on her hot chocolate. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well… Ginny told me last night--” The older Weasley boy began with a grin on his face as he glanced at his sister. “Well… she told me something interesting.”

“You little shit. You pinky promised!” Ophelia pinched Ginny’s side who began to laugh loudly, ignoring the confused looks from her family members. 

“So it’s true?” Charlie asked with a big smile. “I want to tell Tonks. We had a bet during your first year about it.”

“You can’t tell anybody. I’m not even sure if…” She looked over at the twins who were now acting like they weren’t eavesdropping. “I’m not sure if I feel that way.”

“Shame.” Charlie sighed. “Well, I guess I’ll have to collect my galleons in a couple of years.”

Ophelia smacked the dragon tamers arm. “What was the bet anyway? What was her side. You have to tell me now since you’ve brought it up.”

“Oh… you know here. Always rooting for Hufflepuff…” He let the sentence trail off, letting Ophelia fill in the gaps.  _ Cedric _ . 

“You two need to get a life.” She pushed away from the table after she was done eating to go get suited up for the annual snow ball fight. No matter how hard she tried to ignore the stares, Charlie and Ginny Weasley were getting under her nerves anytime she even said one word to the twins. She, for the first time, could not wait until she got back to Hogwarts. Ophelia needed to vent to Grace who would know what to do. 


	34. Chapter Thirty-Four: Gryffindor Vs. Ravenclaw

**Chapter Thirty-Four: Gryffindor Vs. Ravenclaw**

Everyone was chatting away during breakfast before the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Quidditch match. It seemed like it was a perfectly normal breakfast. That is, until Harry Potter walked in. Cedric spit pumpkin juice out in shock, “He’s carrying a _Firebolt!”_

“A what?” Grace asked turning towards the Gryffindor table as all of the third year boys were marching around the broomstick like it needed protection. 

“It’s the best broomstick on the market!” Ophelia shook her head in disbelief and a tad bit jealous knowing she could never afford a broomstick that nice, it would mean draining the last of her mother’s inheritance. 

“Let’s go congratulate him.” Cedric said to Ophelia. “Also, I want a closer look at the Firebolt.”

The two Hufflepuff players weren’t the only one’s having that same idea. The two walked over the same time that Penelope Clearwater walked over as the three gawked at the expensive broom. “I’m so jealous, Harry. I bet it’s going to be so fast.” Ophelia eyed it with wide eyes. “You deserve something nice after the shit luck you had with your Nimbus.”

“Thanks, Ophelia.”

They left the Great Hall to begin walking towards the Quidditch pitch. “Did you hear Ravenclaw’s playing a new Seeker?” Cedric asked with a small smile on his face and a distant look in his eyes.

“Who?”

“Cho Chang.” He said in a sigh.

“Oh… she’s rather pretty.”

“Mmhmm.” Cedric agreed as the smile turned into a smirk before he wiped it off of his face. “If she’s a decent Seeker, it might be tough. I know I’d be distracted by her in the sky.”

Ophelia bit the inner of her cheek until she tasted the rusty taste of blood. What was this feeling? It was as if she felt the same way when she saw Harry with the Firebolt. Was this… jealousy? Why would she be feeling jealous right now? Was her little crush on Cedric bigger than she thought it was? She shook her head, trying to force the thoughts out of her head as they sat down in the stands. 

She held up her sign that said “Go Weasley and Weasley!” with two beater bats charmed to smack in the middle of the red poster. She saw Fred and George wink up at her as they noticed it before Wood yelled at them to get focused. 

It was a clear and cool day with a very light breeze, Ophelia was jealous that they didn’t have this nice weather when they played Gryffindor. She noticed the Seeker that Cedric was talking about. She was the only girl on the Ravenclaw team. 

Once Madam Hooch blew her silver whistle, both teams kicked off on the ground and flew into the sky. Lee’s announcements filled the stadium along with cheers from the students, staff, and family in the stands. “They’re off, and the big excitement of this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt is going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year’s World Championship--”

“Jordan, would you mind telling us what’s going on in the match?” McGonagall snipped to the Gryffindor boy.

“Right you are, Professor!”

Lee began to announce that Katie Bell had possession of the ball but Ophelia was eyeing Cho Chang as she kept close to Harry the entire match. “Come on Harry, lose her!”

“Why are you cheering for Gryffindor anyways? We want them to lose so Hufflepuff makes it to the cup.” Jacob grumbled from next to her.

Ophelia just shrugged. “My best friends are on that team.” _Also, I want to see Cho Chang fall off her broomstick._ She thought bitterly to herself. 

Just as Alicia Spinnett scored a point for Gryffindor, Harry began to dive fast towards the ground. The stadium was now holding their breath, it was always exciting to see a Seeker dive for the Snitch but the way Harry did it was outstanding. Before Gryffindor fans could get to excited, the Ravenclaw beater sent a Bludger flying towards him which merely hit Harry.

The Slytherin’s in the stands began to boo in disappointment. George seemed to be getting his revenge because he just smacked a Bludger towards the Ravenclaw beater who almost fell off his broom because of it. 

“Gryffindor get’s another point which brings the game to 80-30!” Lee’s screams filled the air.

Harry began to dive again for a flash of gold in the air but when Cho blocked him, Harry veered off to not hit her. “What the hell is he doing?” Ophelia grumbled. “Knock into her if she blocks you!”

“Calm down, Ophelia. He’s being nice.” Cedric said.

“There’s no room to be nice in Quidditch.” She snapped back. 

For the third time in the game, Harry accelerated rapidly towards a flash of gold near the Ravenclaw end of the field. “Go Harry!” Ophelia and Ginny screamed together. 

“Oh no…” Cedric pointed towards three tall, black, hooded creatures that were looking at the Gryffindor Seeker. “Dementors!”

Harry wasn’t slowing down. Instead, he pulled his wand out of his robe pocket and from the tip of his wand, something-silver and enormous. After the hooded creatures flew away, Harry stretched his arm out and caught the golden Snitch!

Ophelia didn’t care that her teammates were annoyed, she grabbed a hold of Ginny Weasley’s hand and stormed the pitch with the rest of the Gryffindor supporters. “Well done, Harry!” They all cheered as they patted the small boy on his back. 

“That was quite some Patronus.” Her father said to Harry. Sadly… it wasn’t used on dementors.” He gestured towards the figures that were crumpled into a heap on the ground.

It was Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Flint who were all currently trying to remove themselves from the long robes. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch were furious. “An unworthy trick! A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this!”

“Come on Harry!” George called over to their Seeker. “Party! Gryffindor Common Room!”

Ophelia went to walk away when Fred Weasley grabbed her wrist. “Leaving before the celebration?”

“In the Gryffindor Common Room? I don’t think I look like a Gryffindor…” She looked up at the yellow headband depicting the fighting badger.

“Hmm… we’ll have to fix that. You can borrow a shirt from me and just lose the headband. It’ll be fine.” He smirked down at the Hufflepuff. “Don’t worry, Ginny, George, and I will fight anyone off who gives you trouble. It’ll be fun!”

“Fine.” She laughed as he gave her his best impression of puppy dog eyes. 

She snuck off with the twins to go to Hogsmeade where she left another stack of coins as they loaded up an empty crate full of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and a variety of sweets from Honeydukes. 

“How’d you do that!” Angelina Johnson said as she took a chocolate frog from Ophelia’s hand while she was staring at the twins.

“Our little secret.” George said with a wink which made the Gryffindor Chaser blush. 

“Ophelia… I’m surprised you’re celebrating. Shouldn’t you be with Hufflepuff complaining about the cup?” Her friend asked as she popped the chocolate in her mouth. “I heard a few of them complaining on the way back up to the castle.”

“I guess I’m just a big Gryffindor fan.” She shrugged while Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 

“I think you meant to say a big Weasley fan… your poster didn’t mention Gryffindor just the most handsome and amazing Beater in the game!” He winked at the blushing girl.

“Oi, you don’t have to compliment me like that, Freddie. I already have a big head.” George laughed as Fred tried to swat him. 

They blasted music and drank all of the contraband from Hogsmeade until it was almost midnight when Professor McGonagall stormed into the common room, insisting everyone turns into their beds. “Shit. She’s going to see me.” Ophelia jumped behind the twins who were tall enough that she wouldn’t be seen. 

“Just stay here.” Fred said.

“What? Are you crazy?” Ophelia’s eyes got wide as she was waiting for him to laugh, a sign that he was joking. “You are mental, aren’t you.”

“Well…” George began, eyeing Professor McGonagall. “It’s stay here or get caught in someone else's common room after curfew.”

“Fuck.” Ophelia whispered. “Well… help me get over to the girl’s dormitory. I'll sleep with Ginny.”

“You’ll have to cross the common room.” Fred laughed. “Just stay with the guys. You can sleep in the 5th year's dorm.”

“Absolutely not.” She sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“You slept near us in the Great Hall.” George said.

“Yea, what’s the difference?” Fred egged them on as they turned around to her, still blocking her from the Professor’s view who was yelling at a couple of second years. “Your time is ticking, Lupin.”

“No. I’m not going to get caught trying to sleep in your dorm room.” She panicked as her eyes scanned the common room until she saw Ginny only a few groups away. “Ginny!” She whisper yelled as McGonagall was complaining to Percy about not keeping the party under control.

“What’re you still doing here, Ophelia?” Ginny’s eyes opened wide as she gave her a large grin.

“Can I crash with you tonight? I don’t want to show McGonagall that I was in the common room.” The Hufflepuff girl looked over at the head of Gryffindor and then back at the youngest Weasley. “Well, what do you say?”

Ginny smiled. “I’d love to have a sleepover!”

“Oi, take this. You might need it.” Fred took off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. “Don’t say I never gave you anything, Lupin.” He winked and the boys were off to their dorm while Ginny grabbed her wrist and pulled her up the tower that must’ve led to the Gryffindor girl’s dormitory. 

After they brushed their teeth and hair, they climbed into Ginny’s bed and began to giggle and how childish it all was to be sneaking around and sleeping in the same bed, as if Ophelia wasn’t 16. “Any progress on your loooove life.” She sang the word love so it felt like it lasted for ages while she wiggled her red eyebrows.

“Oh, cut it out, you git. You’re hanging out with your brothers too much, you're turning into them.” Ophelia rolled her eyes.

“Don’t fall in love with me, then.” 

“Oh, you git!” She went to smack the girl but Ginny grabbed her arm and deflected the blow while she giggled like a mad woman. “But in all serious… I’m not sure how I feel. Cedric was talking about Cho Chang today and I got really jealous.”

“Tell him how you feel!” 

“But what if it ruins our friendship?” She sighed and put her hands over her eyes.

“And what if it doesn’t? Who knows? I think you should just go for it.” Ginny smiled at her friend as they laid down and thought long and hard about what would make this situation good and what could make it bad. 

After a long discussion, the girls felt their eyelids grow heavy as they fluttered shut. It seemed like sleep was going to take her away to a strange dream. In her dream, she was flying. She looked down and saw the rolling hills of a countryside pass by her as she zoomed past on her broomstick, the wind whipping her hair.

She smiled at the setting sun that filled the skyline. The air smelled fresh and vibrant. Ophelia looked to her right, and she saw Cedric on his broom, with a wink he took off, daring her to chase after him. “What about me?” She turned her head and on the left she saw Fred flying with a look on his face of fury. “Don’t leave me, O.”

She opened her mouth to say something when she was woken up by screaming. Ginny and her shot up and looked at each other with panic. “What was that?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t sound good.” Ginny said as the two girls creeped out of the four-poster bed and down to the common room where voices were filling the area. 

The Gryffindor common room was filled with voices and the four of them ventured out to see what was going on. Ron was frantic in the middle of the common room. Fred smiled when he saw him talking to the other boys. “Excellent, are we carrying on with the party?”

Percy shoved his glasses on his nose and screamed. “Everyone back upstairs!” He glanced at her and Ginny and his face turned a violent shade of red. “Ophelia what the bloody hell are you doing in the Gryffindor Common Room?”

“Perce-- Sirius Black! In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!” Ron grabbed his brothers pajamas and shook him, trying to make him pay attention to him. 

Professor McGonagall was back. She slammed the portrait behind her and looked around furiously. “I am delighted that Gryffindor won but this is getting ridiculous!”

“PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!” Ron shouted at the Professor. “Ask him, Ask Sir Cadogan!”

The head of Gryffindor narrowed her eyes suspiciously before turning to the portrait that was guarding Gryffindor tower. Her stern voice filled the quiet. “Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor tower?”

“Certainly, good lady. He had the whole week’s worth of passwords, my lady! Read ‘em off a little piece of paper!”

McGonagall was as white as a piece of chalk in her classroom. She looked to every Gryffindor in the room. “Which foolish person wrote down this week’s passwords and left them laying around for anyone to find?”

In the silence, a small and terrified squeak caused everyone to turn and look at Nevile Longbottom as he rose his hand into the air. She looked at him with her lips thin, “I would like to speak with you outside, Mr. Longbottom. Everyone else, go to bed.” As everyone began to move, the Professor spoke again. “Except for you, Miss. Lupin.” Everyone began to return to their beds and Ginny gave her a squeeze of her hand as a form of goodluck before she walked over to the stern Professor. McGonagall dropped her voice and shook her head. “I expect more from you and I’m sure your father and Professor Sprout would be interested to hear that you were in Gryffindor Tower at 2 in the morning! He can escort you back to the Hufflepuff basement. You can tell him yourself.”

The floor felt like it fell out from Ophelia’s feet. Professor McGonagall sent a Patronus to collect her father while she was screaming at Neville in the corridor. When her father showed up, he noticed her immediately in Fred Weasley’s sweatshirt that was so large on her it went down to her thighs. She felt like she could die of embarrassment right there in front of the portrait. “Ah, Professor Lupin. Could you please escort Ophelia back to the Hufflepuff Common Room.”

“Certainly.” He turned on his heels and began to walk fast down the marble staircase. 

“Dad! Wait! I can explain!”

“Why aren’t you in your common room where you’re supposed to be? Especially with Sirius Black on the loose! Did you know he was in Gryffindor tower tonight! You could’ve died, Ophelia. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” He shook his head. He was uncharacteristically angry. “And what are you doing in one of the Weasley boy’s shirts?”

“Er--- I was crashing with Ginny and it was a hand-me-down.” She lied through her teeth and hoped her father didn’t catch on that it was Ginny’s hand-me-down, and not a gift that Fred gave her when she refused to sleep in the boys dorm. 

“Ophelia. Stop lying to me. You make the same facial expression that--” he froze before sighing and counting. “You make the same facial expression that a friend of mine used to make when he was lying.” 

“It’s not what it looks like, dad.”

“Can you tell me what it is, then?” They were rounding the corridor that would take them to the kitchens.

“I was at the Gryffindor party with Ginny and the twins after the match and instead of getting caught for breaking curfew, I thought I would just stay in Gryffindor tower.” She sighed and crossed her arms over the big Gryffindor Quidditch logo on the front of the shirt. “That’s all.”

“Do I want to know what dorm you were in?”

“Are you asking as my dad or as Professor Lupin?”

“Why?”  
“Because… if you’re asking as Professor Lupin I’m going to tell you that you’re a creep and it’s none of your business. If you’re asking as my dad, I’m also going to tell you it’s none of your business and you should trust me when I say I was with Ginny.” She blushed and looked at the barrels in the kitchen to lead her away from this horrible conversation. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Did Professor McGonagall take points away yet?”

“No…”

“50 points from Hufflepuff. Think, Ophelia. There’s a murderer on the loose.” He shook his head and sighed. He closed his eyes and enveloped her in a tight hug. “Please, you have to be more careful. You’re the only family I have left, sweetie.” He kissed the top of her head before leaving and all she could do was cast a muffliato charm and cry as she crawled into her bed. 


	35. Thirty-Five: Confessions

**Thirty-Five: Confessions**

Security began to tighten even more at Hogwarts. Ophelia couldn’t look her father in the face during Defense Against the Dark Arts class or in the Great Hall. The twins noticed that she was avoiding them too when they were in front of her dad. “Oi, Lupin. Why have you been ignoring us?” Fred demanded as he sat on her desk in Charms class. “Don’t act like you haven’t been because you have. You won’t even look at us in Defense Against the Dark Arts and you don’t sit with us anymore in the Great Hall.”

“I don’t know what Freddie did but don’t involve me!” George complained. 

“It’s my fault.” She mumbled as she yanked the Charms textbook from under Fred’s legs. “I’m embarrassed to be talking to you guys in front of my dad because he saw me in Fred’s sweatshirt when I was caught sleeping in Gryffindor tower.”

“Tough luck.” They said in unison.

“Yeah. This is why I told Ginny I didn’t want to--” She began to blush when she realized she almost admitted that she liked one of them by saying she didn’t want to date anyone. “Nevermind.”

“Oi, you can tell your sister but you can’t tell us?” Fred complained.

“That’s correct.” Ophelia sniffed and shoved him off of her desk, which he made more dramatic than necessary which earned him a few giggles from the Gryffindor girls near them. “Now leave me alone, class is going to start and I can’t lose Hufflepuff anymore points.”

“Yea she’s already on the shit list.” Grace sighed as she patted Ophelia’s head lovingly. “Not from me, of course, O. I still love you.” 

Ophelia decided just to keep her head down and focus on school. Nothing bad happened when she did that. It was just trouble trying to sneak around with the twins. Cedric at least seemed happier that she was spending more time with the Hufflepuff’s. He made sure to always ask her if she wanted to walk with him everywhere just like when they were younger. She hadn’t realized how much she missed his friendship.

It did take her everything in her willpower not to slander Cho Chang whenever he talked about her flying techniques. Thankfully, Grace did all the talking for herself.  _ I don’t know… she’s awfully young. What is she 13? That’s kind of gross, Ced. _ After every comment, she would wink at Ophelia who had to hide a laugh. 

Despite hanging out with Hufflepuff’s more and ignoring the twins’ constant request for her to sneak out to Honeydukes or to roam around the castle, she wanted to do something for their birthday that was coming up. She had slowly begun taking materials from Snape’s supplies or Madam Sprouts green houses that would be beneficial for a standard potion kit for their inventions that they were working on. She smiled to herself as she wrapped them, hoping that they would appreciate the gesture. 

She handed Ginny two golden, wrapped packages the night before the twins’ birthday. She hadn’t talked to them since she snapped on them in Charms class. “Can you tell Fred and George that I’m sorry and I hope this shows I’m not an awful friend?”

Ginny gave her a smirk. “Do you want me to give them kisses on the cheeks for you too?”

“Ginny…”

“Just joking, Ophelia!” She winked before dashing up to Gryffindor tower.

The next day, the twins appeared next to her and pulled her into a hidden classroom behind a statue of an old wizard. “Oi, what’s the matter with you two!” She called out once they let her go. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“We just came to return these.” They both gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Ginny said that you emphasized that you really wanted to kiss us on the cheek when she handed us the presents from you.”

“Ginny…” She shook her head. “Well… what do you think of the present?”

“It’s too much.” Fred said at once with a serious look on his face.

“No it’s perfect.” Ophelia fought back with a grin. “Didn’t you say you needed a potion set to start testing out some of your ideas for a joke shop? This will help you.” 

“It must’ve cost a fortune, O.” George complained.

“Stole most of it. So don’t sweat it.” She winked.

“Wicked” the twins said in unison as the three walked out of the abandoned classroom. 

***

The days leading up to the Gryffindor versus Slytherin match were very charged. It seemed like the Slytherin Quidditch team had it out for Harry and was trying to trip him or hex him anytime he walked down the corridor on his own. That led to the obnoxious escorting from Gryffindors that was happening now. 

One day, when Harry had been walking on his own somehow, Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague had him cornered with their wands out just as Cedric, Ophelia, and Grace were walking down the corridor to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry shot them a panicked look and Ophelia skipped up to the Slytherin boys. “Goodluck at the game!” She sang as she kissed them both on the cheeks, distracting them while Harry booked it down the corridor.

“Oh shit!” Montague complained. “Flint’s not going to like this.”

Pucey just smirked and leaned against the wall that Harry was just cornered against. “Finally admitting you got the hots for me, Lupin?”

“Oh yes. Madly in love.” She rolled her eyes while Grace began to laugh and the Hufflepuff’s skipped away with the Slytherin boys staring after them.

“That was disgusting.” Cedric said as they were several feet away. 

“You’re just jealous!” Grace sang as they sat down in their Defense Against the Dark Arts desks. “I bet you wish Ophelia had kissed you.” She then danced out of his reach as he went to playfully shove her.

“Who did Ophelia kiss?” Fred asked with a furious look on his face as he caught the end of their conversation from the corner of the hallway.

“I was saving your Golden boy, Harry Potter. You should be thanking me, Fred.” She rolled her eyes and got out her books.  
“You’re going to be Wood’s favorite Hufflepuff.” George laughed while Fred was still fuming in silence.   
“Well, what’s not to love about, Ophelia.” Cedric smirked and ruffled her hair as they continued to take out their things for class. 

“I thought you were in love with Cho Chang.” Ophelia pretended to sigh and fawn over the Ravenclaw Seeker, as she tried to imitate all of the boys on the opposing quidditch teams as of recently. “Isn’t that why you were so excited to see the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor match?”

“Sure she’s pretty and all but I don’t know. I like girls who are funny, talented, smart…” He blushed and shook his head. “Nevermind.”

“That sounds like Ophelia.” Grace chimed in as she rested her elbow on the desk and gave the two a wink. “I’m just saying.”

There was grumbling from next to her, which she assumed was Fred. It was awfully hard to ignore the blushing from Cedric, the fuming from Fred, the smirking from Grace, and the uncomfortable and knowing glances that her father throughout the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. She had never been more thankful to finish a test early and run out of the classroom into the safety of the sunlight of the Hufflepuff common room. It was easier to breathe in the earthy, round, common room. All she could do was think to herself,  _ what the hell is going on. _

Grace was the first of her friends to enter the common room and she tossed her black leather bag onto the yellow chair that was next to Ophelia. “What the hell did you run out of there for?”

“Did you not see how awkward it was in there? Between Cedric, Fred, and oh my god, my dad… he has to know that something is going on.” She put her hands over her eyes and pressed down hard until she saw spinning white spots dance in front of the blackness.

“Technically you have to actually be dating or something for there to be something going on. I mean honestly, was the kiss on the Quidditch pitch the last time you kissed Ced? And have you even kissed Fred?” 

“No. I haven’t kissed Fred. I’m not going to kiss Fred. My dad would kill me. Besides, there are more important things going on in life. Like Sirius Black?” She looked at Grace who merely waved her hand in the air as if the thought of the escaped prisoner was nothing to worry about at all.

“Oh please, as if you would want to die without having a real kiss.” She pulled out a nail filer from her black leather bag.

“What do you think I should do? Just walk up and kiss Ced, just like that?”

“Sure, why not.” She tapped the nail filer on the top of her thigh while she shrugged her shoulders. “He randomly kissed you, you should return the favor.”

“Oh my god. You’re insane.”

“No… you’re insane for having two hot guys fight over you and not do anything about it.”

“I don’t have two guys fighting over me.” Ophelia fumed. “I’m taking a break from this, I need to go fly.”

She stormed out of the common room and out of the kitchens. Ophelia wasn’t even aware that she was crying until she felt hands on her shoulders. “Hey, O. What’s going on?” Ced and Jacob were looking at her with concern.

“N-Nothing. I just need to go fly.”

“Ophelia, you can’t fly alone. Sirius Black could be on the loose.” Cedric shook his head. 

“Well then come along. I’m going with or without you.” She shook off his hands and continued to walk down the marble staircase, towards the exit of the castle.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Lupin.” He sighed as he jogged down the staircase to catch up to her. “I’m going to ruin this uniform.”

“I’ll fix it with magic.” She smiled up at him but she didn’t think it matched her eyes since he gave her a worried look in return. “I just got a lot on my mind and I want the flying to help clear my mind.”

“Well, it’s a beautiful day to fly.” He gestured his head towards the sunset that was overlooking the Black Lake, the Forbidden Forest, and the castle. “Nice conditions too. Too bad we didn’t have this type of weather at our last match.” He unlocked the Quidditch shed and got out their broomsticks that were with the Hufflepuff items. 

“Do you think you’ll ever stop flying?” She asked as they walked to the center of the pitch.

“I’d like to think I’ll be flying up until the year I die.” He smiled as he swung his right leg over the broomstick. “What about you?”

“I can’t imagine life without flying. Probably the same.” Ophelia gave him a wink as she kicked off the grass, hard. She soared several feet into the air and took off, doing loops around the pitch. She let the wind whip her hair around, not bothering to tie it back like she usually did. 

As she rose into the sky, she slowed down her speed and let go of the broom with her hands, letting her arms go out and feel the rush of the wind. “Careful, Ophelia!” Cedric shouted at her from about 15 feet to her right. “You might fall!”

A giggle escaped her lips as she looked to her right and was remembered of her dream from a few weeks ago when Sirius Black had gotten into the Gryffindor dorms. It was the day that she felt jealous of Cedric. Had her feelings changed? She tried to look deep inside her about Cedric like Grace and her did at night when they couldn’t sleep. All she felt for him was a warm feeling of friendship and care. Of course she loved him… but in what way?

“Cedric?”

He flew closer to her. “What’s wrong?”

“If I ask you to do something… do you promise you won’t let it ruin our friendship?”

“What on earth could you ask me-”

“I just need you to promise that you won’t judge me or anything.” She looked deep into his eyes and saw confusion and worry in his expression. “Promise me.”

“Alright, I promise.”

They stopped flying forward and were now simply hovering high into the air. She turned around to stare at the sun changing the sky’s colors to give her courage. “I’ve been really confused lately, Ced.”

“You’re scaring me, Ophelia. What’s wrong?” He reached out to place his hand on her own that was gripping her broomstick handle. “You can tell me anything.”

She turned her attention back to his face. When she glanced at him she was confronted with images of the eleven-year old boy who was following diligently in Potions class to the boy who taught her how to ice skate which turned into the boy who kissed her after a quidditch match and then finally into the friend who was staring at her with care and concern in his face. “Ced… I have a confession to make… I...” Ophelia closed her eyes, trying to find the words when he wrapped his other arm around her shoulders, bringing her chest into his as they embraced in the sky. 

His warmth brought fireworks bursting in her chest as the jealous voice in her head screamed,  _ he picked you, he picked you. _ She turned her head to face his again and bit her lip before taking a deep breath and leaning in to kiss his slightly pink lips. 

Cedric gave a small gasp of surprise, before he returned the force with enthusiasm and tightened his grip on her, pulling her as close as possible to him while they were on their broomsticks. They didn’t realize how long they were kissing until the sky faded from the bright colors of the sunset into twilight.

When they broke apart in the darkened pitch he let out a small chuckle as he kissed the tip of her nose. “That should’ve been our first kiss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo... how do y'all think Fred is going to react to this?? The Weasley twins being aries just makes it so fun to right how pissed off he gets.   
> I hope you all are enjoying the story so far! I'm amazed and overjoyed by the feedback I'm getting and that you all are reading and enjoying this character as much as I do! I hope you all continue to read!  
> As always, please forgive any typos or errors, I write for fun on the side of my full-time job. :)


	36. Chapter Thirty-Six: Gryffindor versus Slytherin

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Gryffindor versus Slytherin**

The Great Hall was buzzing with excitement as the tables were filled with scarlet red and emerald green supporters the morning of the Gryffindor and Slytherin match. Ophelia was currently sitting with Grace, Jacob, and Cedric as they all wore some type of red. She was wearing Fred’s sweatshirt that he leant her the night that she stayed at Gryffindor tower. Grace rolled her eyes and called her stupid when she came out of the dorm wearing it and now she could see why. 

Cedric was brighting his teeth together and making little conversation in the Great Hall. Things hadn’t been awkward between them up until this point. In fact, it had been fun sneaking around their friends and snogging in between classes. The fact that Cedric was a Prefect was even more exciting since he should’ve been enforcing the rules instead of breaking them with her. However, right now he was having a hard time adding to the conversation which didn’t make any sense since he loved Quidditch.

Ophelia turned to him when Jacob and Grace were arguing over Divination and put her hand on his shoulder. “Ced, what’s wrong?”

“I thought… I don’t know… I thought there was something going on between us.”

“Oh… well I liked everything if that’s what you’re asking.” She furrowed her black eyebrows and looked up at him as he laughed darkly.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, O.” He shook his head. “You don’t have any of my sweatshirts that you wear.”

“Well… you haven’t given me any.” She argued back as she crossed her arms, guiltily over the Gryffindor Quidditch logo that was embroidered in a sparkling gold onto the front of the bright red sweatshirt. “Besides… it’s just a sweatshirt.”

“I’m sure Fred Weasley thinks just the same thing.” Cedric scoffed and stood up from the breakfast table as he announced he had to go.

Grace raised an eyebrow at Ophelia who just shook her head in response. “I’ll come with, mate!” Jacob pushed out from the Hufflepuff table, desperate to get away from the argument he was having with Grace. 

“Are you stupid?” Grace asked bluntly before she took a bite from her buttered toast. “Like, honestly. What were you thinking this morning?”

“I just put on the first Gryffindor colors in my trunk. I didn’t think it was a big deal… wait… hang on… how do you know that Ced would be mad about this?” She began to blush as she thought back to her and Cedric giggling in an empty classroom, thinking that they were so smart and Jacob and Grace wouldn’t find out.

“I’m a Prefect, idiot.” She rolled her eyes and tossed her glossy hair over her red jumper. “I heard you two giggling like a bunch of first-years and when I went closer, I heard snogging. It wasn’t too hard to figure out. I, of course, led the group I was with away from the area because I’m a good friend.” Grace narrowed her eyes accusingly at Ophelia.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. We thought it was fun sneaking around.” She blushed and took a long drag of coffee from her mug.

“It won’t be fun in a second.” Grace sang before two red-heads sat on either side of her.

“Looking good as a Weasley, Lupin.” Fred winked at her.

“Yea… you should join the family.” George added as he nicked a gala apple from the fruit bowl in front of the Hufflepuff girl. “Mum would be happy.”

“I’ll ask Charlie right away if he wants to ditch the dragons and be with me, then.” Ophelia smirked at them before realizing that Grace was watching her with judgemental eyes. It probably wasn’t appropriate to be joking about becoming a Weasley when she was snogging Cedric last night. 

As if on cue, he walked back to the Great Hall, holding a Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain sweatshirt in a bright canary yellow. He tossed it onto Ophelia’s lap. “There, now you can’t tell me that I haven’t given you a sweatshirt.”

Ophelia was stunned. She was holding the sweatshirt, and could feel eyes all on her to see how she was going to react. Cedric was fidgeting in front of her as he glanced between Fred and her. Fred was bouncing his foot at a rapid pace, a tick he did when he was furious, as he glanced between Ophelia and Cedric with pure hatred in his eyes. George was awkwardly eating the apple at a slow pace as he glanced between the two Hufflepuff’s with a look of confusion on his face while Grace was giggling behind her. 

She cleared her throat and smiled up at Cedric as her cheeks burned from the attention. “Thanks, Ced.”

He smiled down at her and reached out to her with his hand. “Come on, let’s go get a good spot for the match.”

Ophelia turned to Fred with a look of pleading on her face. She was silently telling him in her head,  _ please don’t be mad, please don’t be mad, please don’t be mad. _ When she put her hand into Cedric’s, Fred scoffed and rolled his eyes before hopping up and strutting away from them towards the Gryffindor table where he promptly sat next to Angelina and Alicia and wrapped his arms around them. “Ignore him. I do.” George smiled at her with a looking of longing to say something more before he sighed and walked over to join his twin. 

“Finally!” Grace exclaimed and jumped up to go and jab a finger into Cedric’s chest. “You owe me big time, buddy. I covered for your ass on patrol the other day.”

Cedric began to blush. “You didn’t have to.” He leaned down and pecked Ophelia on the lips before winking at Grace. “See, I’m fine with a little PDA.”

The Hufflepuff’s walked out of the castle and felt the wind whip their hair around as they stepped foot onto the path to the quidditch pitch. Cedric’s hand was warm as he gripped hers. When she glanced up at him as he was talking animatedly to Jacob, she saw the happiness and confidence in her face that she loved about Cedric. Grace nudged her and gave her eyebrows a wiggle as she eyed their hands and smiled. “Oh, shut up.” Ophelia shoved her friend's shoulder with her other hand.

When they got to the stands, they sat down near the top of the Hufflepuff stands and got comfortable with their binoculars. Ophelia was busy trying to eye what Madame Hooch was doing when she heard a shocked gasp at the bottom of the benches. She stopped looking through the binoculars and saw Ginny and Neville Longbottom climbing to find some spots for the match. Ginny’s eyes looked at the two Hufflepuff’s hands clasped and up to Ophelia’s eyes. “I’m happy for you.” She said with a small smile on her lips, but in her eyes she could tell that her younger friend was a little disappointed. 

Cedric didn’t seem to catch it because he leant down and whispered into Ophelia’s ear as Ginny sat down, “She’s my favorite Weasley. The only one who doesn’t give me shit.”

“Ron I don’t think cares either way. That’s two Weasley’s.”

“What about Charlie? What do you think he would say about this?” His thumb massaged the back of her hand as he gestured to the two of them with his other.

She bit her bottom lip and tried to forget about the bet that he was talking about at Christmas time. Knowing how Charlie wanted Fred and her to end up together, she would assume that Charlie would be happy for her but more so disappointed than anything. She didn’t have time to answer his question because the two Quidditch teams were racing out onto the pitch to warm up before the match began. 

Ophelia put her binoculars up to her eyes and kept seeing the Slytherins taunt any Gryffindor that flew by them. Her eyes caught a flash of red and saw that George kept talking to Fred, who was dangerously silent.

When it was time to begin the match, Madam Hooch made the captains shake hands before blowing her whistle and allowing all the players to take to the air. “And it’s Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinnet of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goalposts, looking good, Alicia! Ugh-- no-- Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing up the field-- and ouch! Nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington is hit and drops the Quaffle, it’s caught by Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina-- nice swerve around Montague and SHE SCORES! TEN ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!”

Everyone began to cheer as Angelina was about to high-five Alicia when Marcus Flint went flying into her, almost knocking her off of her broomstick. He chuckled and shrugged. “Sorry! Didn’t see her!” He shouted towards the crowd.

Fred was fuming and began to fly towards Marcus as he was laughing with the Slytherin fans. He then raised his arm and swung his Beater’s club at the back of Flint’s head which forced his face to go flying into his broomstick. When Flint sat back up on his broomstick, his nose was bent in a funny way and there was blood trickling down his chin onto the emerald green robes he was wearing. 

Madam Hooch had enough. “Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!”

“Come off it, miss!” Fred was screaming at Madam Hooch who simply just shook her head and gave the Quaffle to Alicia to move with the penalty. 

“Spinnet scores! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!” Lee shouted as it echoed through the pitch, causing Gryffindor fans to cheer and Slytherin fans to hiss and boo. 

Flint, spit a chunk of blood from his mouth down to the ground as he held the quaffle in his arm. He was eyeing Oliver Wood like he wanted to throttle him. As he cranked his arm back and tossed the Quaffle at a blinding speed, everyone thought it was sure to make it through the hoop. To everyone’s shock, Oliver was flying faster than the Quaffle and managed to stop Flint from scoring. 

“Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession, back to Gryffindor and it’s Katie Bell with the quaffle! She’s streaking up the field and -- THAT WAS DELIBERATE!” 

Graham Montague had swerved right in front of the Gryffindor Chaser, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, and grabbed a hold of her tight ponytail. It caused her to cartwheel in the air. Thankfully, she somehow managed to keep the broom with her, but she dropped the Quaffle with all the commotion. Katie got to attempt a penalty shot and she sunk it making the score now 30-0. 

There was a great commotion as Harry Potter began to streak through the sky on his Firebolt broomstick. There were two loud cracks as both of the Slytherin beaters were following him, trying to smack Bludgers at his head. The Gryffindor Seeker turned sharply and with a sickening crunch sound the two collided. 

Lee began cackling. “Too bad, boys! You’ll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it’s Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle-- Flint alongside her-- poke him in the eye, Angelina!-- only a joke, Professor-- oh no-- Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goalposts, come on now, Wood, save--!”

Every Gryffindor fan booed as the Quaffle went flying just an inch past Oliver’s finger tips, causing Slytherin to score. It was the dirtiest game Ophelia had ever seen at Hogwarts. Just as Alicia was trying to fly through the air, the Slytherin Beater, Bole, smacked her with his club. Fred flew fast to catch up with them and elbowed him in the face, breaking his nose for payback. With the penalty points awarded to both teams, Gryffindor scored another 10 while Wood somehow blocked the shot. 

Suddenly, Katie Bell scored and Fred and George were swooping around her, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick decided to aim both bludgers at Oliver Wood. Both of them landed straight in the center of his stomach. He rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded as he threw up over onto the ground. 

Madam Hooch was furious. “YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!”

Angelina sunk the penalty they were awarded. Bringing the score sixty-ten. “Slytherin in possession-- Pucey streaking up the field, tosses the Quaffle to Warrington, and OUCH! -- Fred Weasley smacks the bludger at Warrington, causing Slytherin to lose possession. Alicia Spinnet with the Quaffle and puts it through the Slytherin goal! Bringing the score… SEVENTY-TEN, GRYFFINDOR!”

Harry all of a sudden put on a huge burst of speed! Everyone with binoculars turned their attention to him as they caught a glance of the golden snitch. “He’s a cheat!” Cedric bellowed, angrily as everyone watched Draco Malfoy grab Harry’s broomstick tail, causing him to be halted in the air. 

Gryffindor was awarded another penalty. However, since Alicia was so angry, she missed. “Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for a goal-- Adrian Pucey scores. Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor.” 

Everyone in red or gold began to groan. “What the bloody hell are they doing!” Ophelia pointed at the barricade of Slytherin’s in the air as Angelina Johnson tried to race down the pitch with the Quaffle. Every single player, except for Draco Malfoy, was in a line trying to block her. Just as Angelina was getting close, Harry Potter swooped through the line, sending the Slytherin players scattering in the air and allowing her to zoom through them as she scored, she brought the Gryffindor’s up to 80 points. 

The joy of her scoring was short lived as everyone watched Draco Malfoy dive for the snitch. Harry Potter was a mile behind him. His Firebolt was going as fast as he could. Harry dived and was gaining quickly on the Slytherin Seeker. Everyone in the stands held their breath as the seekers came out of the dive.

Harry Potter was holding the snitch in the air. All of the Gryffindor team came crashing into the Seeker as the Gryffindor’s in the stands were screaming, “Gryffindor won the cup!”

The Gryffindor supporters stormed the field. Ophelia crashed into George and gave him a huge hug. “I’m so proud of you guys!” When she turned to give Fred a hug, she was surprised that he leant back and shook his head. 

Her stomach dropped and she felt like she was going to throw up as Fred turned to Angelina Johnson and gave her a hug, lifting her off of the ground and swinging her around. She felt tears stinging in her eyes as she turned to run back to the castle, ignoring the yells from George, Grace, and Cedric. 

She didn’t stop until she made it into the Hufflepuff girls’ dormitory and pressed her back against her four-poster bed and sank down onto the ground. Ophelia put her palms against her eyelids and let the sobs come out freely in the peace and quiet. “You’re being foolish.” She told herself out loud. After she brushed her tears away with her fingertips. “You’ve been with Cedric. Why should you even care about Fred.”

The door opened and Grace poked her head into the dormitory. “Ophelia?”

She stubbornly swept away the last of the salty tears. “Yes?”

“Are you alright?” She tucked her legs up to her chest as she sat next to her on the floor of the dormitory. “I’m worried about you. What happened on the quidditch pitch?”

“Nothing happened. I-- I--” Ophelia closed her eyes and leaned her head against Grace’s shoulder. “I just didn’t realize that we couldn’t be friends if I was with Ced.”

“Fred?”

“Mhmm.” She let out a little sniffle and sighed. “I shouldn’t be crying. God… what is Cedric thinking right now?”

“He’s actually only worried about you. He wanted to come and check out you but of course the castle wouldn’t allow it.” She giggled. “Not that he didn’t try of course.” 

“Where is he now?”

“In the common room. I’ll go with you, if you’d like.” Grace offered.

“I should change.” Ophelia took off the bright red, Weasley quidditch Beater sweatshirt and put on the canary yellow quidditch captain sweatshirt with the big black letters that read DIGGORY on the back. 

“Looks good.” Grace smiled and grabbed her hand as the two walked to the common room. When they opened the door, Cedric and Jacob were waiting at a set of black arm chairs near the girls’ dormitory opening. 

“Ophelia! Are you alright?” Cedric grabbed her upper arms in his hands before wrapping her into a tight embrace. “I was so worried.” 

“I think… I was just overwhelmed. There was a lot going on at the pitch.”

“Well… perhaps visiting the kitchens for some hot chocolate would help?” He smiled down at her before kissing her forehead and leading her to the house-elves in the kitchen. The two sat in a nook of the kitchen near a fire and drank the rich, hot-chocolate with thick whipping cream on top. They drank the steamy drinks and Cedric kept talking to her to keep her mind off of the growing knot in her stomach. She smiled at him as he went on about looking forward to the Summer of Quidditch and traveling. All she could think about was how she was so lucky to have such a good friend as Cedric Diggory in her life. 


	37. Thirty-Seven: O.W.L’s

**Thirty-Seven: O.W.L’s**

“I’ve noticed that you haven’t been talking to the Weasley twins in DADA.” Her father said casually as they sat in his office, studying the Patronus charm which he promised to begin teaching her this summer. “Would you like to talk about that?”

Ophelia’s jaw locked as she glanced up at his watchful eyes from the textbook she was studying. “No. I don’t think I would like to talk.”

“You know… I was once 16 at Hogwarts.” He smiled wistfully as he chuckled. “I remember what it was like to have these… things happen in my personal life.”

“Dad… are we going to talk about boys right now?” She ruffled her dark eyebrows. “I don’t think you’d be very good at that.”

“Try me.” He challenged as he set the mug of coffee he was clutching on his desk. “I’m all ears, darling.”

She bit at the edge of her nail on her thumbs as she tried to piece together the story in her head. “Well… I don’t know, dad. I didn’t mean for anything to happen. I’ve sort of ruined my friendship with Fred.”

“And how did that come to be?”

“Well… this is awkward to tell you this way but… I--” She sighed and closed the thick textbook in her hand before resting it on her lap. “I’ve sort of been dating Cedric Diggory for a couple weeks now.”

“Oh.” His eyebrows raised and he nodded. “He’s a great Defense Against the Dark Arts student. I would like to speak to him, get to know him more--”

“No need!” Ophelia blushed. “It’s fine, dad. I’m not here to talk about that. I just think that I may have led Fred on a bit when I didn’t mean to and that’s why he’s so mad now.”

Her father nodded and sat in silence for a moment, taking in the information she was discussing. “Well… I don’t think that you should be responsible for any way that he took your friendship. I was good friends with someone who had two boys who were in love with her for many years. When she chose one, the other… he… well he didn’t take it very well.”

She nodded, it sounded very similar to her situation with Fred and Cedric at the moment. “How did she-- How did she mend the friendship between the other?”

“Well I don’t think the other ever stopped caring for her. Perhaps Fred still cares about you too. I think he might just be hurt right now. Men have terrible ego’s darling. Especially Gryffindor men, all my friends did not take being let down, easily. You probably just wounded his.” He smiled sadly at her. “I’m sure you can mend this friendship if you just put your mind to it. Of course, if you want to mend it.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to mend the friendship?” She raised her eyebrows.

“It’s just a choice you have.” 

“Have you ever stopped being friends with someone?”

He froze and took a swig of coffee before putting the white mug back on the desk. “Yes. Someone who betrayed the people I love. That’s… all I’ll say about it.” Her father looked at his wristwatch and cleared his throat. “Oh dear. I think that you better get going to Charms for Professor Flitwick’s class.”

She jumped up from the office chair and grabbed her leather bag that was resting by the door before running out of the office and into the corridor to the Charms classroom. When she pushed open the large oak door, most of the students were already in there. She sat down in the spot next to Cedric and Grace. “How do you think you all will do today?” Ophelia asked her friends as she got out her supplies for the class.

Cedric groaned and leaned his head against her shoulder. “Please don’t bring it up. It’ll be embarrassing enough when I have to actually be tested on everything for the O.W.L.s coming up. I think this practice exam might be horrendous.”

“I was up studying all night and I’m still uncertain about different wand movements.” Grace frowned and picked at her perfect nails. “I’m sure you will pass with flying marks.”

“Not that I wasn’t studying. I work hard for the grades I earn.” She tsked and leaned her head against the top of Cedrics so that her cheek was on his bronze hair. “You all could always join me in the library.”

“We do sometimes.” Jacob complained with his head on the wooden desk. “You just seem to live there.”

“I do enjoy my visits with you in the library.” Cedric chuckled which Ophelia returned the laughs as they remembered the last time they were in the library, they had snogged near the restricted section before the librarian almost caught them. 

“Alright class! Time for the practice O.W.L!” Professor Flitwick swished his wand and all of their quills were put away and in their place were anti-cheating quills. “Now, please read the directions carefully and turn in the test once you are done. You may leave when you are finished but I recommend using this time to study the entire time that this class normally is in session.” 

With another flick of his wand, the tests went flying through the air before they landed on the respective students desks. Ophelia immediately flipped through hers and began to read all of the questions as she answered them at a swift pace.

Naturally she was the first one to finish in the class. Once she skipped up to Professor Flitwick’s desk, she set the paper in the finished spot and gave him a small smile. “Enjoy the rest of your day, Professor.”

“You as well, Miss. Lupin.”

She dashed out of the classroom, trying to ignore the two red-headed boys who were glancing at her from their exams. Once she was in the castle corridor, she let her feet take her to the library where she knew she could dive head first into some more studies for the O.W.L exams that were coming up at the beginning of June.

When Ophelia set up at her favorite oak table in the library, she opened up her Potions textbook and began to study the contents furiously. She was halfway through writing down additional notes for the differences between the various 5th year Potions, there was a tap on her shoulder. Cedric smiled down at her. “Is this seat taken?”

“No. Of course, not.”

“It’s a shame that we are cooped up, studying in this library when we could be outside in the bright sunshine, studying.”

“Cedric…”

“No. No.” He shook his head. “Don’t listen to me. I just think that a little sunshine would help you think straight. But who am I to know these things.” He winked at her which made her blush and slam her Potions book shut which earned them a shush from the librarian. 

“If we go outside. We. Are. Studying.” She said firmly as Cedric grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder. 

“Of course!” He smiled and grabbed her hand as they led the pair out of the castle doors onto the castle grounds with the shade of a few trees. “Here. This seems like a right and proper space to study, now doesn’t it.”

They sat down in the grass in front of the shady tree. Cedric leaned against the base of the tree and pulled Ophelia to rest against his chest. “I’m going to study, now.”

Cedric chuckled as he began to play with her hair. “Read to me.”

She blushed and opened up the Potions book to where she left off in the library. Ophelia began to read the passages out loud and added pieces of information that she was scratching in or remembering. Cedric kept playing with her dark curls and asking questions occasionally. They studied until it grew dark outside. “This should be our studying spot. I much prefer to hear you read than to try and suffer through it myself.” He kissed the top of her head as he tucked her under his arm as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner. 

When they walked in, she couldn’t help but to glance at the Gryffindor table. Fred was staring at the way Cedric was holding her and he grew furious. His face turned almost as bright as his hair and George was whispering to him frantically as Fred clutched the table. Ginny, who was sitting to their left, looked at the direction the twins were staring at and gave Ophelia a small smile and wave before becoming incredibly interested in the soup she was eating. 

She felt her stomach sink as she thought of the feelings that Fred must be going through. She longed to hear him laugh and to ruffle her hair. When the pair sat down at the Hufflepuff table she tried her best to push that thought to the back of her mind as Grace was going on about the Charms exam. 

***

The days at Hogwarts were growing incredibly stressful as all of the students were studying for the exams. In the library, Percy Weasley snapped on a group of first years as he was trying to study for his N.E.W.T’s and attempted to use his headboy title to not allow them in the library for the rest of term. 

Everyone learned to tip-toe around the 5th and 7th year students as they were under the most stress from O.W.Ls and N.E.W.T’s. She was growing so stressed that she seemed to lose weight since her skirts were growing lose and she had to add another button around the waist to hold them up. 

Her father was growing nervous for her and was reminding her to take care of her mental and physical health in between studying. She tried to assure him that she was doing her best but it seemed that she was fooling no one. Grace was found sneaking her a piece of bread or a cookie from dinner to the library when she would skip dinners to study. 

When it was finally time for the exams, everyone was thankful to finally get them done and over with. Cedric was growing incredibly anxious for the exams to not disappoint his father and to get his girlfriend back. He was growing worried at her mental sanity as she poured for hours over her notes and would only sleep for a few hours every day. 

The first exam for the 5th years was Charms. Professor Flitwick read them the directions before allowing them to participate in the written portion of the exam. After Ophelia raced through the test and reread her answers three separate times, she turned in the exam. Professor Flitwick gave her a smile and promised her that he thought she was going to do wonderfully. 

She sat in the corridor of the Great Hall, waiting for her friends to finish their exams as she read through her Transfiguration textbook since the practical exam would be this afternoon. When the doors opened up, she looked up, hoping to see either Grace or Cedric with every time that the doors opened. “How on earth do you already have your nose in a book, Lupin.” Pucey complained as he left the Great Hall.

“Studying. You should try it sometime.” She wrinkled her nose before looking back at the words, analyzing them and trying to memorize them.

“I do study. Just so you know.” He sat down next to her on the bench and leaned his head against the stone wall. “You need to learn how to relax.”

“Oh and how do you relax? Cheating in Quidditch and bullying Gryffindors?”

“Exactly.” He laughed. “What do you do to relax?”

“Are you actually having a conversation with me?”

“Oh come on. We once had conversations weekly in the library. We can’t be cordial.” 

She opened her mouth but was speechless. Ophelia shut the Potions book and looked at Pucey. He was now smirking down at her, trying not to laugh. “I don’t understand you. You’re so cruel to people but then you act as if nothing has happened.”

“You can be cruel yourself I think. Didn’t you lead Fred Weasley on for years and then begin dating Cedric Diggory?” He winked as she blushed up from her neck over her cheeks and nose. 

The doors opened up again and Cedric and Grace were walking out, rubbing their heads. “What’s going on here?” Cedric asked as he looked between Ophelia’s blushing face and Adrian’s smiling one.

“Nothing at all, Diggory. Don’t get your wand in a knot.” Pucey rolled his eyes and slipped off of the bench before strutting away. 

There was an awkward silence before Grace sighed and turned to her friends. “How do you all think you did?”

“I think I did fine. We will have to wait until we get the grades back this summer before I can be too sure.” Ophelia nodded to herself. 

The week went on in this manner as they studied frantically in between the O.W.L exams. Everyone seemed to be affected, even the twins who were seen being more loud and rambunctious from the constant stress. 

She had never been more thankful for the end of the exam week as she was when she turned in her Potions exam on Thursday. Ophelia thought that she was on the top of the world. She was certainly on the track of being the top of her class and she was burning like a bright star in the sky. She should have known better that the higher you fly, the harder you fall…


	38. Chapter Thirty-Eight: Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ophelia ran to her father’s classroom next to share the good news of her O.W.Ls. His office door was ajar and she stepped into a shocking sight of him packing up all of his things. “Dad… what are you doing?”
> 
> He froze at her voice and turned around to look at her with a sad smile on his tired face. “I resigned.”
> 
> “Resigned?” She furrowed her eyebrows. “I do not understand. Why?”
> 
> “Things… happened last night and I cannot hide what I am. Professor Snape told all of the Slytherin students that I am a werewolf this morning. It is no longer safe for me to teach here.” He packed up a few of his textbooks and he sighed. “You should sit down.”
> 
> “Why?”
> 
> “Some other things happened last night that I need to talk to you about, Ophelia. Please.”

**Chapter Thirty-Eight: Family**

The O.W.Ls results came back at the end of term the morning before the feast. When she opened up her results, she thought she was going to sing she was so happy. She had managed to get 12 out of 12 Outstandings in her classes. 

Percy Weasley was sitting at the Gryffindor table looking at his N.E.W.T results with pride. Ophelia could not help but skip over to him, the only other Weasley she knew that would recognize this important feet. She held up her O.W.L. report and smiled. “Looks like we both got 12 O’s.”

The red-headed teenager smiled at her. “Excellent work, Ophelia. I’m sure that if you continue this path you will be ready for an important job just like myself. I expect great things from you.” He nodded his head, but turned to Penelope Clearwater, his girlfriend, who had just sat next to him. 

Ophelia ran to her father’s classroom next to share the good news of her O.W.Ls. His office door was ajar and she stepped into a shocking sight of him packing up all of his things. “Dad… what are you doing?”

He froze at her voice and turned around to look at her with a sad smile on his tired face. “I resigned.”

“Resigned?” She furrowed her eyebrows. “I do not understand. Why?”

“Things… happened last night and I cannot hide what I am. Professor Snape told all of the Slytherin students that I am a werewolf this morning. It is no longer safe for me to teach here.” He packed up a few of his textbooks and he sighed. “You should sit down.”

“Why?”

“Some other things happened last night that I need to talk to you about, Ophelia. Please.” He rubbed his eyes and she could see the dark circles underneath them. “Harry Potter is coming here soon, I see him coming on the map.”

“How did you get the Marauder’s Map?” She looked up at him, still refusing to sit.

“How do you know what the Marauder’s Map is?” He crossed his arms over his shabby shirt and frowned at her.

“The twins.”

He sighed and closed his eyes. “Of course. Well… no matter. I better explain some things before Harry gets here.” He sat down on the chair that sat on opposite side of the desk from her and rubbed his temples. “This is going to be a lot to take in. I’m just going to start with the basics and whatever I miss, Harry can fill you in on.” He took a big sigh before lowering his hands and looking her in the eye. “Sirius Black is innocent.”

“What?”

“Please, Ophelia, just listen and try to be open minded.”

The Hufflepuff girl sat down finally and stared at her father from across the DADA office desk. “I’m listening.”

“Please. Just listen and don’t interrupt. Up until recently, I thought Sirirus Black to have been the cause for the murder of James and Lily Potter as well as the McKinnon family. The map…” He patted it fondly with a sad smile on his face. “Proved that to be wrong. Peter Pettigrew was on the map.” The name Peter Pettigrew sounded familiar to her for when she was hearing about the crimes that Sirius Black had committed which included murdering Peter Pettigrew along with muggles that were witnesses in the street. “The map is never wrong. I should know, I helped create it.” He smiled and tapped on the name Moony on the cover of the map. 

“You did wh--”

“Please, Ophelia. This is rather challenging for me.” He sighed before continuing. “I was best friends with Sirius Black, otherwise known as Padfoot, James Potter, otherwise known as Prongs, and Peter Pettigrew, otherwise known as Wormtail.” Her head was reeling as she took in this new information. The map that was made for pranking and sneaking around the castle was created by her father, the world’s most logical man. A professor of all careers. Not only that but he was friends with James Potter. A celebrity and the father of someone she knew. 

He continued on with his story, allowing for gaps for her to process the information. “Peter was a death eater, unknown to us obviously. He earned the respect of You-Know-Who when he murdered your mother and her family. Thankfully you were with Sirius and I when it happened. I don’t think I would’ve lived with myself, nor would Sirius if we knew that you had perished at such a young age. You were only 2 when it happened.” He shook his head angrily, as if he was thinking of his old friends actions and the possibility of what could have happened.

“After this, Peter was in the ranks of the death eaters. He was going to betray us to serve his master. When James and Lily Potter knew that Harry was being targeted, they went into hiding. They needed a secret keeper. Everyone thought it was Sirius but it was actually Peter Pettigrew. When the Potter’s were betrayed, Sirius went to take revenge since he was the only one who knew that Peter was the Potter’s secret keeper. Peter was smarter than that and went into hiding into his animagus form. A rat.” Her father shook his head. “Anyways… I… I knew that Sirius was taken to Azkaban and I had to take action.”

She raised her eyebrows. “What type of action did you take, dad?”

He clenched his jaw and smiled sadly at her. “I took you in as my own.”

Ophelia felt like the room was spinning as tears stung in her blue eyes. “What are you talking about?”

“Sirius Black… could not raise a child from Azkaban.”

“No.” She shook her head. “It cannot be.”

“Please, Ophelia. Listen to me. Couldn’t you see from the pictures that you do not look like me? Your mother, she did not have blue eyes or dark hair.” 

She felt like she was going to be sick as the room spun faster and faster with the information that was being presented to her. “No… no… I don’t believe you.”

“Please. I beg you.” He started digging through a bag until he found a picture. It was a picture of a younger Sirius Black holding a toddler with bright blue eyes on his lap, forcing the young girl to wave her small arm next to a red-headed woman she recognized as Lily Potter, holding a dark haired baby with bright green eyes doing the same wave.  _ Harry _ .

“I don’t understand.” She was crying as she clutched the photograph in her hand. 

“Your biological father and I… began… dating during the Wizard War.”

Her eyes locked onto him in shock. “And he cheated?”

“No…No he didn’t. This was before we were together, dear” He blushed. “I never thought I’d be having this conversation with you after Sirius was arrested. I didn’t want you to be embarrassed of your father.”

“Can I still call you dad?”

“Of course, honey. I view you as my daughter. You always are and always will be. I love you, sweetheart.” 

“Where is Sirius Black, now?” She asked, setting the photograph on her lap.

“I can’t tell you that in case you are questioned by anyone of our whereabouts.” He clasped the suitcase shut.

“Our… as in you and me?”

“No.” He looked down at his shoes. “I’ve arranged for you to stay with the Weasley’s this summer while I help Sirius. Both him and I will have to be on the run now that my lycanthropy is aware to the public and he is wanted by Azkaban. You aren’t safe with us.” 

“You’re abandoning me.” She whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks. “How could you abandon me.”

“It’s for your own good!”

“No. You’re leaving me with no family.”

“You will be in perfectly good hands with the Weasley's. Arthur knows about my condition and he is aware of the implications that have occurred due to Ronald being present.” Her father pinched the bridge of his nose and eyed the map. “Harry Potter will be here any second and I’m sure you wouldn’t want him to see us fighting.”

“I don’t care what he sees. I want answers.”

“I just gave them to you, Ophelia.”

“No. Why did you keep this a secret from me? I have a family that I wasn’t even aware of! Did you know that the Sorting Hat stalled with me because it wanted to put me into Slytherin? It was telling me that there were powerful witches and wizards in my family who did wonderfully in Slytherin. I argued saying that none of my family members were in Slytherin house. Seeing as I’m actually a Black not a Lupin I guess I was wrong.”

The door of the office pushed open again as Ophelia had closed it when she entered the room. Harry Potter was standing in the door frame with his hair askew and a questioning look on his face. “It’s true. You’re leaving.”

Her father sighed and went back to packing. “I cannot work here now that students are aware of my condition. I was forced to resign.”

“Does he know?” Ophelia stood up and looked at Harry accusingly.

“He was there when Sirius was freed. It was mentioned.” 

“So… the great Harry Potter knew about my father before I did. How rich.” She wiped away a tear on her cheek and shook her head. “I’ll be going. When will I see you next?”

“I don’t know, O--”

“Whatever. Tell Sirius Black that he owes me answers as well.” She slammed the office door behind her and sprinted to the hidden nook behind the tapestry that she loved. Ophelia hoisted her body up into the nook and tucked her knees up to her chest as she casted a muffliato so her tears could flow freely without worry that someone would overhear her and reveal her hiding spot. 

She didn’t know how long she was in there for but the tapestry moved and a pair of brilliant green eyes were there. It was Harry Potter. “What do you want?” She clenched her jaw and looked out the window. 

Instead of catching the hint that she didn’t want company, he lifted his body into the nook and sat across from her. “Ophelia…”

“What.” She snapped and stared at him, forcing the tears to stay in her eyes and not spill out on her cheeks. “What could you possibly want?”

“I’m checking if you are okay.”

“Okay?” The tears came down again and she cursed under her breath as she swotted them away. “How the hell could I be okay right now, Harry. First of all, my dad isn’t even really my dad my real father is Sirius Black who he was fucking dating apparently. To top it all off, the person I call dad says he's running off with him and I’m stuck at the Weasley’s all summer because no one wants me and I have no family.”

“You have me.”

“We are not family, Harry.” She shook her head and scoffed.

He frowned and looked at his dirty tennis shoes. “Well… Sirius told me that when he is proven to be freed, he was going to take me in since he is my godfather and that the four of us would be a family.”

“I don’t have a family. There are only liars and my mother who is dead. Here…” She handed the younger boy the picture of the two of them with their parents when they were younger. “You can take this. I’m so angry right now that I would probably destroy this if it was left with me. I’m sure you want it.”

“Ophelia…” He reached out to her but she was already jumping down from her spot on the nook.

“Don’t follow me, Harry!” She called out from behind her as she ran off to the Hufflepuff common room. 

When she tapped the tune of “Helga Hufflepuff” on to the correct barrel and stormed into the room, she didn’t stop to answer her friends confused faces. Ophelia dashed up to the girls showers and blasted the water as hot as she could so that her skin turned pink when she got in. After casting a muffliato, she sank to the shower floor and simply wept until there were no tears left to cry. Ophelia couldn’t place the emotion that she was feeling. Once the tears were gone, she didn’t feel sad… she simply felt… empty.

It was as if there were no emotions left. No fear, no sadness, no joy, no anger, just… empty.


	39. Chapter Thiry-Nine: Numb

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ophelia?” The door creaked open and it was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looking rather concerned.
> 
> “I don’t think I feel well enough to go down for dinner.” She muttered and pulled the blanket so it tucked under her chin. “I’m not hungry.”
> 
> They shared a glance before nodding and shutting the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> In this chapter and the next couple ones, Ophelia is going to be depressed. I know that a lot of people experience depression differently and I'm just writing based off of what I have experienced. If it is triggering for you to skip meals/ showers/ stay in bed all day, I would maybe skip this chapter. It's not graphic but I know that many different people experiences triggers in different ways and I would hate to be the cause of anyones. 
> 
> Thanks! Have a great read. :)

**Thirty-Nine: Numb**

Despite how she was so stressed out days ago over the exams, she would have traded with her past self to feel something. She was currently sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express with Cedric, Grace, Jacob, Rodger, and one of his Ravenclaw friends. Ophelia didn’t even remember getting on the train. Grace and Cedric were sitting on either side of her, occasionally they would glance at her and nudge her with a concerned look on their faces.

She didn’t care.

She just felt numb.

Ophelia didn’t tell anyone what was going on the other day when she came back from her visit in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They all assumed she was upset because of her “father” resigning.

She laughed bitterly to herself thinking of that word. Father. 

The only good thing about feeling numb was that time sped on.

She was at Platform 9 and ¾ before she even registered that they had left Hogwarts. Grace and Cedric hugged her goodbyes as Mrs. Weasley came to collect her. The matriarch had looked at her with worry in her eyes. “Ophelia, dear… you look…” Instead of finishing her sentence, Mrs. Weasley simply pulled the Hufflepuff girl into a tight embrace.

Do. Not. Cry. 

She forced herself not to cry on the public platform and simply tried to turn the corner of her lips up into a smile to not worry Mrs. Weasley. With the look on the red-head woman’s face, it did not work. 

The group traveled by Portkey to the Weasley’s house. For the first time since she was 11, Ophelia fell during the Portkey travel. She felt like it was too much effort to sit back up and thought if it would be too concerning to inform Mrs. Weasley that she would much rather stay lying down in the field than go inside.

Thankfully a hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her up. Ginny looked at her with concern in her blue eyes. “Ophelia… are you alright?”

She nodded, trying not to worry anyone. “Fine.” Ophelia mumbled as the group walked into the Burrow.

It was too loud. Too happy.

She hoisted her trunk up to Bill’s room, which she would be staying at this summer and sat on the yellow knit blanket that Mrs. Weasley had put in the room. Ophelia layed down under the cozy blanket and stared at the ceiling. It was that ceiling with speckles on it.

Perhaps I could count the speckles to pass the time.

So she did.

After she counted the speckles on the ceiling, she turned to the floor boards. After the floorboard, she began to count how many times that the birds would chirp in the nest that was outside the window of the bedroom.

“Ophelia?” The door creaked open and it was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looking rather concerned.

“I don’t think I feel well enough to go down for dinner.” She muttered and pulled the blanket so it tucked under her chin. “I’m not hungry.”

They shared a glance before nodding and shutting the door.

She went back to counting, making sure that she didn’t miss any speckles on the ceiling before sleep took her away. Ophelia thought that the numbness would mean that she wouldn’t dream. She was rather confused when she woke up in a strange house that she didn’t recognize.

Her feet hit the hard-wood floor and it creaked slightly. When she stood up, she looked around the room she was in and saw all of her belongings including the pictures she enjoyed taking at Hogwarts with her friends that were tapped up on the wall. She decided to investigate this strange home more and opened the hallway door.

Once she was outside, she heard people talking in the kitchen. She crept down to the kitchen where the smell of pancakes, bacon, and coffee was drifting from. Harry Potter was sitting at the round kitchen table as he poured too much syrup onto a stack of fluffy pancakes. He was talking animatedly to her father about his Firebolt.

“Ophelia, dear! You’re up!” Sirius Black was standing at the stove, making bacon in a frying pan. He smiled at her. “Well, go on. Join the others. I’ll be there with the bacon soon.”

She was frozen in the entrance way staring between the three people in the strange kitchen. “Why are you here?”

Sirius Black looked at her with concern in his eyes. “What do you mean, sweetie? Do you have a temperature?” He walked over to her to place his hand on her head but she dodged it and stared at him.

“This isn’t real… This isn’t real…” She muttered to herself before she turned around to punch the wall.

At the punch, the pain in her dream made her jolt awake. The sun was streaming in through the curtains that were hung in Bill’s old room at the Burrow. To her horror, she smelled bacon and pancakes coming from the kitchen downstairs. It made her nauseous as she thought back to Sirius Black cooking in her dream.

She tucked the yellow, knit blanket under her chin and stared out the window. She was observing the bird and her family as the colors outside changed from bright, to rich sunset colors, and then to twilight. Ophelia hadn’t left the bed at all for the entire day. 

The door opened up and she felt footsteps walk towards her before weight shifted the bottom of the bed. “Mum says you have to eat tonight. I agree with her. You’ve been in this bed for 24 hours now.” Ginny rubbed circles onto Ophelia’s wrapped up legs. 

“Please tell her I’m not hungry, Gin.”

“Ophelia…”

“Ginny. Please. I’m not in the head space to go downstairs and act like everything is normal.” The Hufflepuff girl rolled over so that she was curled into a ball and closed her eyes. “I’m tired anyways. I’m going to go to bed.”

Ginny huffed in disappointment before leaving the room.

She actually was tired and drifted into a dreamless sleep which she was thankful for. The next day, she stayed in bed again and stared out the window. She wished she could feel hungry, thirsty, something. Instead, all she felt was numb. 

The colors changed outside again and she realized she had stayed in bed until sunset again. The door opened and the blanket was ripped off from top of her. “What the hell!” She shouted and went to grab for the blanket but was shocked to see the twins in front of her.

“Get up.” Fred demanded.

“No.” She said stubbornly and curled back into a ball.

“O… you’ve been in this bed for 48 hours now. You haven’t showered or ate.” George sat down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “We are all really worried.”

“I’m sure you all are.” She scoffed and shook her head, thinking of the anger in Fred’s eyes back at Hogwarts. “I just want to be alone.”

“You’ve had your time to be alone.” Fred said in a slightly dead voice. “Now… you’re going to get up and come down to eat dinner with us.”

“No. I’m not hungry.” She insisted.

George sighed and whispered something to Fred that she couldn’t hear. After that, he left the room so it was only George and Ophelia. “Ophelia. We all really are worried. You look like you’re half-dead.”

“I feel it.” She laughed bitterly. “I mean… how does one react when they are abandoned by their parents. It would be better if they were dead. Then, I would have a good reason for why they aren’t with me.”

“Don’t say that.” George frowned. “You don’t mean that.”

“What do I mean, then? I feel like I’m drowning in my own head and there’s nothing my dad can do to help me besides parade around in hiding with his ex-fucking-boyfriend.” She reached for the yellow knit blanket that Fred had abandoned on the floor and George took this opportunity to pull her off of the bed.

“Come on. Get up.” They were sitting on the hard-word floor now. “See… change of scenery.” He smiled and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders as Fred came in the door as he balanced 3 plates of food in his hands. 

“Spaghetti and meatballs tonight.” Fred sang as he set the plates down in front of each of them in their circle on the floor.

George hopped up. “I’ll go grab some waters. She hasn’t drank anything in a while.”

When he left the room, an awkward silence filled the space as Fred and Ophelia stared at each other. Fred cracked a smile. “You look horrible.”

“Thanks.” She mumbled as she used the fork to push the large meatball around the white plate, leaving sauce marks behind it. 

“You really need to eat something, O.” His voice softened and something in his brown eyes shifted to worry or concern. “You’ve already lost a lot of weight because of exams and now you aren’t eating at all. You’re going to be a walking skeleton soon.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care what I look like.”

Fred sighed impatiently. “Mum used to have to pull this with Ginny when she was younger. Since you’re going to act like a child, you will get treated like a child. You have to at least take 16 bites because you’re 16.”

“I’m not hungry--”

“When is the last time you ate?” Fred demanded as George came in the room with three large glasses of ice water. “I know it hasn’t been since you arrived at the Burrow.”

“I don’t remember.” She admitted.

“Eat.” They said in unison. 

Dinner was hard. She sat on the floor of Bill’s old room and tried to scoop noodles on her fork and shove them in her mouth. Instead of the usual, Weasley cooking, they tasted like worms in her mouth. It made her want to throw up and stop eating.

She forced 16 bites just like Fred said before she drank the entire glass of water, not realizing how dry her mouth was beforehand. The entire time, Ophelia didn’t say a word. She had nothing to add to their conversation about a ton-tongue toffee. When she was done eating, she climbed back into the bed and grabbed the knit blanket from the floor as she wrapped back up into it, enjoying the comfort that it brought her. The twins lingered around after they cleaned their plates and ate the rest of her food. After some time, they both said goodnight to her and closed the door behind her.

The next day, she was surprised to see the twins in her room with a bunch of Potions materials. She recognized the kits as the ones she gifted to them. They said hello to her which she didn’t respond to and they set up a cauldron in the middle of the room and began to set to work.

They played some music on a muggle portable radio. She listened to the radio announcer countdown from 100 of the top hits of Summer of ‘94. She watched from the safety of her knit blanket as the twins laughed with each other and messed around. They would flip a switch almost and go into working, muttering to themselves about adjusting the measurements and how to make antidotes.

It was interrupting her counting time. She didn’t feel annoyed, mad, or happy. Just numb still. 

That is how the days at the Burrow lasted. The twins would force her to eat dinner and drink two glasses of water a day. They would spend all day in the old room, experimenting and talking. Ginny would come and wrestle her out of bed to take a shower occasionally. She was in a strange routine with the Weasley’s and she couldn’t place how she felt about it. Everything was just numb and it was easier to not think of it at all and just lay in the bed that now had a lump in it that shaped perfectly to her. It seemed like time would go on like this forever, in usual rhythm. That is, until she got a visitor. 


	40. Chapter Forty: It Was An Accident

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments and kudos! It really does make me smile and have the motivation/courage to continue writing this story. Just an important warning, this chapter does still have Ophelia depressed. I promise it's not graphic but I know that when I was in a low point, I wouldn't want to read about it.  
> I hope you are all doing well and enjoying the story so far!

**Chapter Forty: It Was An Accident**

Voices were coming up the stairs and Mr. Weasley was begging with someone not to bother Ophelia. “She’s not well. That’s why she hasn’t been answering the letters, I promise she’s not being kept against her will. We would never do such a thing.”

“The boy just wants to see her. That’s all, Arthur.” It was Amos Diggory.

Ophelia covered her head with the yellow knit blanket and for the first time since she’s been at the Burrow, she felt an emotion. Embarrassment. 

The door to her room opened and the three men walked in. Cedric’s voice rang in her ears. “Ophelia… What’s wrong. You can tell me.”

She laughed bitterly. “Obviously my problem is that my dad abandoned me.”

Amos shifted uncomfortably in the doorway as Mr. Weasley gave him a glance that screamed, _I told you so_. “Dear, why don’t you stay with us for a week while we visit France?”

“No. I’m fine here.” She rolled over and stared out the window, with her back to the Diggories. 

“Why haven’t you answered any of my letters?” Cedric demanded, sounding hurt. “I’ve written to you almost every day this summer so far and not a single one has been returned.”

She couldn’t even feel guilty, just numb. “I-- I didn’t read them.” 

Cedric crossed the room to the desk where a pile of letters were. There were many of them, all unopened and unread. He was looking through them and he clenched his jaw when he recognized his own handwriting in the midst of letters from Grace, Jacob, her father, and himself all in an unorganized heep on the desk. “Why?”

She shrugged. “It was too much effort.”

“Ophelia what’s going on with you.” Cedric set the letters down and shook his head. “You’re not being yourself.”

Amos cleared his throat. “Perhaps, we should leave Miss. Lupin be.”  
She giggled darkly at the name, Miss. Lupin. Obviously that’s what she would still be going now but shouldn’t her name be Ophelia Black? She giggled more and wiped a tear that spilled out of her eyes. Mr. Weasley was next to her. “Ophelia? Perhaps we should take you to St. Mungo’s…”

“No!” She sat up. “I’m not going anywhere.” 

Cedric looked at her with pain in his eyes. “Ophelia… you need help.”

“No. I don’t.” She stubbornly said as she crossed her arms over the same jumper she had worn all week long. “I’m fine.”

“No… you’re not.” Cedric walked towards her, replacing Mr. Weasley by her bedside. “You really need some help. I can’t be with someone who won’t take care of themselves. It’s not healthy for me or for you.”

She looked at him. “So what… you’re breaking up with me? How fucking rich.”

“Ophelia!” Mr. Weasley called from next to Amos. “Language.”

She felt heat build in her chest as her magic seemed to be egging on her rage, it sent sparks through her finger tips and through her veins all throughout the body. It replaced the numbness with anger. “You probably think I’m such a fucking loser, huh Ced.”

“No… I don’t think you’re a loser. But the Ophelia Lupin I know wouldn’t be acting like this.”

“You don’t know me.” She said darkly. “I don’t even know me. Ophelia Lupin doens’t fucking exist.” With that, the magic in her caused the glass next to her to shatter. 

“Cedric. We should leave.” Amos said nervously.

“Yea, Ced. You should leave.”

“Ophelia… You need a friend. I do know you. I know everything about you, we tell each other everything! If your dad were here he--”

That comment about her dad is what did it. The magic exploded and Cedric was thrown back into the wall and his head smacked with a sickening crunch as blood covered the wall. “Cedric!” Mr. Diggory cried before picking up his son and covering the wound on the back of his head. “We’re leaving.” With a crack, they disapparated, probably to go get help.

“I didn’t mean to do that… It was an accident!” Ophelia was crying now as Mr. Weasley gave her a hug.

“Sh… it’s okay, Ophelia… I know… Accidental magic happens sometimes when one is feeling heightened emotions…” He was cut off by a red howler coming through the window. 

It unraveled itself and her blood rang cold and she heard a clipped voice coming through the howler. 

_“Dear Miss. Ophelia Lupin,_

_The Ministry of Magic has received intelligence that at ten thirty-nine, this morning, you performed restricted magic against another underage wizard outside of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As a clear violation of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you are hereby expelled from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hoping you are well,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk.”_

“Mr. Weasley… I… I didn’t mean to!” She cried as Arthur Weasley grabbed his wand.

“I know, dear. I will get a hearing set up for you, immediately. I’m going to get Mrs. Weasley so you aren’t alone.” He ran out of the room and was calling for his wife throughout the Burrow.

She covered her eyes with her palms and let the tears flow freely. She couldn’t believe what she had just done. Her anger must’ve been so bottled up from feeling numb for so long that when Cedric made her angry, it lashed out against him. She would have to write to him and ask how he was doing. 

Ginny was in her room shortly after her father ran out. “I just heard-- are you okay?” She climbed into bed with the Hufflepuff girl and let her friend cry on her shoulder as she rubbed soothing circles on her back.

“Ginny… I’ve been expelled!”

“No. Dad will get this sorted out. He works for the Ministry, he’ll get a hearing set up for you.”

“I hurt Cedric. There was blood…” She looked at the wall with the evidence of the spot where he smacked his head so hard that he was bleeding. 

Mrs. Weasley was in the room now and with a wave of her wand, the blood mark dissapeared. She sat at the foot of the bed and stared at the girls with a sad look on her face. “It’s okay.” She said firmly. “We should’ve gotten you help a long time ago.”

“I don’t want--”

“It doesn’t matter what you want, dear. It’s what you need. What you need right now is a more supportive family to lean on and one’s who understand when they cannot help you any longer.”

“Are you getting rid of me?” She began to cry harder now at the thought of getting abandoned by the Weasley’s now as well as her father. “That’s all anyone knows how to do with me.”

“Oh goodness, dear. No.” Mrs. Weasley joined the hug and Ophelia was sandwiched between the two Weasley girls. “We are going to make sure you see a Healer for your mind and make sure that everything is okay.”

She nodded, taking in that information. “Will I still live here?”

“We will make certain of it, dear.” The matriarch of the Weasley family said firmly before she kissed Ophelia on the top of her head. “I’m going to Floo call Arthur and see what is going on at the Ministry over this. You should know, Weasley’s we don’t go down without a fight.” 

* * *

It seemed like years before Mr. Weasley returned. Ophelia was so anxious that she took a shower, and put her hair into two long braids like she would do for Quidditch matches. She was pacing in the living room, waiting for him to return by Floo.

She felt guilty because she realized this was the first time she had been in the living room since the beginning of summer which was at least two weeks ago. The twins were right also, she had lost a lot of weight which she hadn’t noticed just laying in bed and wearing sweatpants. But now, she had to borrow a pair of jeans from Ginny because all of hers were too big in the hips and fell down.

Ginny joined her as the other girl sat in an armchair and watched her friend pace back and forth over the living room rug. They both ran over to the Floo when it sounded that a visitor had arrived. Mr. Weasley stepped out and looked at the girls with a smile on his face. “There is no need for a trial. You have been excused due to Cedric and my memory of the situation that was reviewed. You do have to go see a Healer once a week up until you leave for Hogwarts to check in with your magic.”

Ophelia leapt up and hugged Mr. Weasley from around his neck. She was crying and thanking him at the same time. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny joined in on the hug as they all celebrated that Ophelia could continue to attend Hogwarts. 

After they celebrated, Ophelia ran up to her room to grab a piece of parchment and write a letter to Cedric. 

_Ced,_

_I am so sorry for what happened. Please forgive me!_

_I am no longer expelled from Hogwarts but you might already know that since Mr. Weasley said that you gave them your memory to show what happened. Please tell me you’re alright. I don’t think I could live with myself if you are not._

_It was an accident and I’m so terribly sorry._

_-Ophelia_

She ran off to find the Weasley’s owl and handed him the letter, sending him to the Diggories. She then began to open all of the letters from her friends and family. The feeling of guilt built in her stomach as she saw them grow more concerned as they became unanswered.

The one that stuck out to her the most was from her father.

_Ophelia,_

_I hope you are well. I haven’t heard from you in a while. I understand you’re probably angry at me. I’m sorry. I think I will be apologizing for the rest of my life._

_We are traveling right now and staying in various caves, to stay away from the public eye. The first full moon is coming up, and I do hope that it’s alright without the aid of everyone I’ve leaned on over the years. I do hope that you will spend it healthy and happy at the Weasley’s._

_I know you don’t want to talk about it… but we thought it may be important to draw a family tree for you on this note. It’s not finished of course, for security reasons but we hope this gives you an insight on people._

_-R.L_

Attached to the note was an elegant loopy handwriting of people’s names. She realized this was Sirius Black’s handwriting. Her real father. At the top of the paper had three names. 

_Wallburga, Alphard, and Cygnus._

_All children of Pollux and Irma (Crabbe) Black. Orion and Wallburga married and had Sirius and Regulus Black (both male)._

_Alphard, was removed from the official family tree for giving money to his runaway nephew (Sirius)._

_Cygnus married Druella and had three daughters, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa. Andromeda was removed from the official family tree for marrying a muggle, Ted Tonks, and they had a daughter, Nymphadora Tonks. Bellatrix and Rodolphus did not have any children. Narcissa married Lucius Malfoy and had Draco Malfoy._

_This is the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black._

_I hope this helps you have a better understanding. -Padfoot_


	41. Chapter Forty-One: Tongue Tied

**Chapter Forty-One: Tongue Tied**

_Ophelia,_

_I’m sorry that I haven’t written much this Summer. My dad doesn’t think it’s a good idea for us to hangout alone this Summer. I hope you understand. I know he is planning on going to the Quidditch World Cup this year. Are you and the Weasley’s going? I hope you do. It would be nice to see you._

_I’m happy to hear that you haven’t been expelled. I am fine. The Healer was able to do their job and I was out of St. Mungo’s._

_Anyways, I should get going. I’m practicing with Jacob so he can possibly be on the team this year with us. Wouldn’t that be great! Too bad Grace is more concerned with her nails being in uniform otherwise the whole gang could be on the team._

_Hope you are well._

_Cedric_

She had scanned the letter multiple times trying to decipher what he meant by hangout alone this Summer. To her, that seemed like he thought they could date at school. He also didn’t explicitly say they were broken up if that was a subtle way of ending things between them. Ophelia groaned and laid down on the cozy couch in the Burrow living room and she went to read the letter once again.

Ginny hopped over the back of the sofa and sat at her feet. “What are you reading?”

“A letter, obviously.” Ophelia rolled her eyes at the thirteen year old who was trying to peer over her to get a read. “You can read it. I don’t know what it means despite having it practically memorized.”

The smaller girl grew excited at the prospect of learning more about boys. She was nagging Ophelia all summer about how to kiss boys and what it felt like and it was a dangerous situation when Fred was in the room when she brought it up. He would grow silent and then go outside and hit a bunch of Bludgers until he was over his anger. 

Ginny frowned. “Did he break up with you?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem.” She plucked the letter out of the younger girls hands and went to re-read the letter. She knew that she would have to bring this up to her Healer since they would see it in her memories, which irked her to no end.

It was so invading, the Healer sessions with Healer Browning. She was a nice lady but the way she nodded her head and asked Ophelia to elaborate on her feelings made her want to shove them deep down and not talk about them. It was nice to be able to shadow at St. Mungo’s for the rest of the day after her appointments. Mr. Weasley was able to work out a deal so that she could get some observation time to prepare for her N.E.W.T’s coming up.

Ginny brought her back to the present by complaining about boys. “I just don’t understand how he can act like it’s all on his dad. If I had a boyfriend, I’d want him to fight for me to the end of time.” She sighed and smiled.

“Are you thinking of Harry?” Ophelia smirked which earned her a punch on the arm that would surely cause a nice bruise. “Ouch! I deserved that.” 

Mr. Weasley came home at that moment, bustling through the kitchen door with his briefcase in hand. He gave Mrs. Weasley a kiss on the cheek while she was getting dinner together in the hot kitchen. He waltzed into the living room and sat down in the chair that he frequented with a sigh as he pulled out the Daily Prophet from the battered briefcase. “How was your day, girls?”

“Fine.” They chorused together.

“Mr. Weasley…”

“Arthur, dear. You’re family. No need to be so formal all the time.” He smiled at Ophelia.

“Sorry… Arthur… are we going to the Quidditch World Cup by chance? Cedric was asking me.”

“Cedric? How is he doing? Amos has been a bit distant at work. Oh but yes… the World Cup… I was going to surprise everyone about that tonight. Some of my friends in the Department of Magical Games and Sports were able to get us some tickets at a discounted price. I’m going to tell the boys tonight at dinner!”

Ginny and Ophelia looked at each other and squealed with excitement. “We’ve got two extra tickets of course for Hermione and Harry to come along as well.” 

“This is so exciting! How much are the tickets so I know how much to pay you back?” Ophelia asked.

“Absolutely not, young lady.” Mr. Weasley shook his head. “You aren’t giving me a single sickle. It’s Molly and my's treat to you all.” 

“Mr. Weasley--” Ophelia began to protest but Mr. Weasley simply waved his wand and made the muggle record player to start playing some music rather loudly.

“Sorry, dear! I can’t hear you over Elton John!” He opened up the Daily Prophet and began to read it while tapping his foot to the beat of the music. 

Ginny was caught up in all of the excitement that she grabbed Ophelia’s hands and hoisted her up onto the coffee table. “We do this in the Gryffindor common room sometimes!” She shouted over the music and began to sway around with Ophelia. The Hufflepuff girl was giddy with happiness and was so thankful to feel these emotions again. She followed her Healer’s advice and tried to soak in the emotion, taking in how it made her feel and enjoy the moment. Ophelia took Ginny’s hand and twirled the shorter girl around like she was a princess in one of the muggle movies. 

“What on Earth are we celebrating down here?” George called as he ran down the stairs with a big smile on his freckled face. He jumped up on the small coffee table with the girls and took turns twirling them around.

“Ginny, you look like a ballerina.” Fred laughed as he joined the group in the living room as he lifted his little sister up and began to twirl her around as her laughter filled the room.

Ron was sitting on the staircase laughing and shaking his head. “You all are insane!”

“Oh come on, Ronald!” Ophelia called for him as George dipped her backwards. “It’s fun!”

He shook his head. “I think I’ll stick to just observing. I'm not much of a dancer.”

The Hufflepuff girl shook her head and went back to swaying around with George. They were singing along to the music and George would twirl her around until her sides hurt from laughing so hard at the joy and silliness of of it all. They danced around the living room, laughing, and singing until Mrs. Weasley waved her wand, silencing the music with a smile on her face. “I’m sorry to ruin the party but dinner is ready, everybody.”

Ginny and Ophelia shared a knowing look, excited for the big announcement as they bound to get a spot where they could get a good view of the boys’ facial expressions when they heard the news. Mr. Weasley was allowing everyone to get into a normal dinner conversation, he kept giving winks to the girls who were dying for him to spill the news of the Quidditch World Cup tickets. 

Once there was a slight lull in conversation, he cleared his voice. “Weasley’s… I think I have some great news!”

“Ron is adopted?” Fred asked with a hopeful look on his face that earned him a swat from his mother. “Only joking, mum.”

“No…” Mr. Weasley shook his head. “I’ve scored us tickets for the Quidditch World Cup!”

All three boys jumped to their feet and were asking so many questions and complimenting their father at once that it just sounded like a roar of noise. George was the first to notice that Ginny and Ophelia hadn’t reacted. “You two knew!”

The girls began to giggle at his accusing look. “Why do you think we were dancing!” 

“I’m hurt.” George joked. “I thought it was just a rouse to get me to spin you around, Ophelia. And to think you were keeping secrets.”

“We are asking Harry and Hermione if they would like to go as well, Ron.” Mrs. Weasley smiled at her youngest son. “Hermione’s parents had already said yes and we are having a harder time contacting Harry’s aunt and uncle.”

“Horrible people. They might have bars on his windows again.” Ron grimaced. 

“Well no matter!” Mr. Weasley cheered. “Here’s to the Quidditch World Cup!” He held up his glass of water and everyone joined in, clinging the glasses together in merriness. 

Later that night, Ginny and Ophelia were trying to figure out what they were going to pack for the game. They were looking through a wizarding magazine that advertised various accessories to get for the game to support either team. Both the girls were wanting to support the Irish and Ophelia happily filled out the mail-order form to get them matching green binoculars. When she gave Errol the order form, the girls sent him out and went into Ginny’s room to talk excitedly about the upcoming match. 

They were started when the twins came barging into the room with looks of mischief on their faces. “Care for some toffee?” Fred asked with his hand extended.

“No.” Ginny quipped. “I don’t trust anything you two give me.”

“Smart girl.” Ophelia laughed. “What’s so special about the toffee?”

“Well… it’s the newest recipe of Ton-Tongue Toffee. We got the antidote down and everything!” George was talking animatedly. “We’ve been working on it for weeks! Well you know, you were there.”

She giggled and his her smile behind the back her hand. “Yes… I do recall you boys having some difficulties when you were testing it on yourselves. Why would I trust you guys that you’ve had the recipe fixed?”

“Because we wouldn’t do that to either of you.” Fred scoffed. “Besides, we had to have it perfected for when we go to pick up Harry at his muggle house.”

“Fred… George… you’re not going to…”

“Oh but we are.” They said in perfect unison. 

“What?” Ginny asked looking at the three. “I hate when you all do this. Fill me in.”

“They’re going to give Dudley a toffee… aren’t you?” Ophelia demanded as she crossed her arms over her chest. “That is such a bad idea. What if the ministry finds out.”

“Oh please. I think only one near expulsion is enough for the Burrow this summer.” Fred winked as Ophelia blushed at the memory of her howler from the ministry. “It’ll be fine. We won’t use magic at all.”

“We’re going to trick him into eating it.” George added with a smirk. 

“Prove it’s safe.” Ophelia demanded. “Eat it.”

Fred shrugged and unwrapped the candy before popping it into his mouth. Soon enough, the engorgement charm on the candy caused his tongue to grow a foot out of his mouth. George began to laugh while he tossed the antidote piece of candy to Fred who ate it and let his tongue return back to normal. “Happy, now?”

“Very.” She shook her head. “I just hope you are prepared for the shit show that this is going to cause.”

“Oh, Ophelia.” George sighed and put his arm around her shoulder. “That’s exactly why we’re going to do it.”

“We love causing mischief.” Fred winked. “Come on, George. Let’s make a fresh batch for our order forms.”

The twins darted out of the room, laughing along the way to their room. Ginny shook her head. “Those two idiots are going to get caught up in their antics someday.”

“Perhaps… I think they’re smarter than they let on.” Ophelia noted as she returned to the magazine, ignoring the stare from Ginny.

“Smarter? Oh please, you’ve really lost it now.”

“Oh come on, they have to be smart to produce those candies. I was watching their process of inventing them and it was actually hard work.” Ophelia thought back to the long nights they would spend in her room, keeping her company while they poured their time over a cauldron, forced to invent without the aid of a wand. It was impressive and she felt a twinge of pride sweep over her and how impressive her friends were. 

Ginny smirked. “I’m going to tell them that you think they’re smart.”

“You wouldn’t dare. Could you imagine how insufferable they would become?” The Hufflepuff girl shook her head. “I made the mistake once of telling Fred he looked nice in his Quidditch uniform and he brought it up for weeks.”

“Do you still think Fred looks nice?” Ginny pried as she flipped through a magazine, trying to appear casual. “You know… like more than a friend?”

“Ginny. I’m dating Cedric.”

“Are you?”

The words hurt. 

She thought back to the letter that she was spending all of her time devouring and trying to decipher. Was she dating Cedric? She didn’t know. If she was, great. She loved hanging out with Cedric and he was an excellent kisser who knew how to take her breath away. 

If she wasn’t…

She didn’t want to think about it. It could ruin her friendship with him. Unless he was going to act like they never did date. It was so weird and she didn’t know how to wrap her brain around it. When she looked up from an article about this season's robes, she noticed that Ginny was staring at her, expecting an answer. “I don’t know. That’s the problem. I can’t be thinking of anyone else until I know. I’m going to ask him at the match. He’s going with his dad.” 

* * *

“How has your week been, Ophelia?” Healer Browning smiled at her over her charmed quill and parchment that was already frantically writing down notes about their session.

“Great! I found out I’m going to the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasley’s. I’m very excited.” Ophelia picked at some dead skin on her nails, not wanting to meet the Healer’s eyes which seemed to look right through her.

“Is something bothering you?”

“No… I mean… kind of. You remember how I told you I was dating Cedric--”

“Yes, your friend who plays Quidditch with you. We talked a lot about him in our beginning sessions. How is he?” The Healer didn’t mention that they talked about the nightmares of her killing him when her accidental magic incident happened and she thought the blood wouldn’t stop flowing and that he was dead. 

“Well… he’s fine. I’m just not sure if we are dating anymore.”

“Oh?”

“Er-- yea. He wrote me a letter and it was confusing. I want to ask him about it at the Cup.” Ophelia sighed.

“Do you think that’s wise?”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you feel in control of your magic?” The Healer raised her eyebrow. “If you don’t get the answer you want, do you think you will lose control again?”

“No. I will be fine. I’ve been checked in and I’ve been journaling, practicing my breathing, and going to weekly sessions. I’ve never felt better.” Ophelia forced a smile on her face. “See?”

Healer Browning sighed and crossed her ankles. “Just be careful, Miss. Lupin. You remember your grounding techniques that we worked on?”

Ophelia smiled and nodded. “Is that what you recommend going into this conversation?”

She smiled and nodded. “You’re doing so well and I just worry that you’ll lose control. Make sure you have your support system around you and those grounding techniques and I think you’ll be able to enjoy the Quidditch World Cup.” Her hand scribbled down a prescription for a potion to take for calming nerves. “Take this, just in case. It shouldn’t be used daily. Only as needed with your flare ups.”

Ophelia took the slip in her hand and nodded. “Thank you.” 

“Anytime, dear. Remember. If you need any additional appointments we can set that up.” Healer Browning stood up to shake her hand as Ophelia went to leave.

“How much do I owe for the session?”

“Oh. It’s been covered by your father. He set up a direct account to pay for any visits you have at St. Mungo’s.” Healer Browning smiled. “He was probably just too busy to tell you.”

Ophelia swallowed. Her father didn’t have that type of money. She did know that the Black’s had money. Sirius Black bought Harry that Firebolt claiming he was making up for lost time. Was this a big gesture to get her to forgive him and try to reach out? She forced a smile on her face. “I’ll have to thank him. Well… I better be off.”

She crossed her arms and shuffled out of her office and down the hallway. Someone calling out her name caught her attention. Ophelia whipped her head around saw Neville Longbottom. “Neville! What’re you doing here?”

“Err--- visiting my parents. What’re you doing here?”

“Oh… I had a visit with a Healer.” She awkwardly shifted weight onto her other foot.

“Oh. I didn’t realize, sorry I didn’t mean to pry.” Neville blushed.

“No… no… it’s no problem at all. Honestly.” She then realized why he was embarrassed for asking. They were on the fourth floor and she just came out of the office that had to do with healing the brain. He was smart, he could put two and two together and find out that she was having therapy sessions with a Healer. “I’m not crazy.” She whispered.

Neville smiled at her, softly. “I never said you were.”

“Would you like someone to be with you for your visit with your parents?” Ophelia smiled.

“Er-- that’s okay. They aren’t really all there.”

“I didn’t ask if they needed a visitor. Do you need a friend there?” She smiled at the awkward Gryffindor boy and he beamed.

“That… that would be great.” He led them to the area of the long-term patients and Ophelia caught a glimpse of Professor Lockhart, stumbling around asking the Healer who was with him if he had a copy of his newest book for him to autograph to adoring fans that he thought were in the waiting room. 

They went to a private room that was labeled Longbottom on the outside. Neville knocked before entering. “Mum… Dad… I brought a friend with me. This is Ophelia Lupin.”

His mother looked at Ophelia and her eyes grew wide with fear. She held up a finger that shook violently and opened and shut her mouth as if she was trying desperately to tell Neville something. Her heart monitor was racing with anxiety and Ophelia gulped. “Neville… who put your parents in here?”

“Bellatrix LeStrange. Sorry, my mom can get… odd sometimes.” He smiled at the Hufflepuff girl.

Ophelia’s heart sank as she thought of her dark hair and bright blue eyes. She saw the picture of Sirius holding her. She wondered if her high cheekbones and nose looked like Bellatrix’s. Was she causing Alice to think that she was in the presence of a death eater? She frowned and sat down next to Neville, trying to appear as Hufflepuff-like as possible and not like a death eater. She even took off her outward cloak so that he Hufflepuff Quidditch practice shirt was showing.

He quietly talked to his mom and dad, telling them all about his studies that he was partaking in over the summer. He expressed interest in the newest Herbology book that he had picked up at the bookstore and they stared at him, not talking, but staring as if they knew deep down that it was their son who was with them in the room. 

After an hour-long visit, Neville gave his parents hugs and the two walked out of the room. “I didn’t realize you were so interested in Herbology.” Ophelia smiled.

“I know it’s not a popular subject…”

“I love Professor Sprout. She’s my head of house, you forget. Besides, I had to get an Outstanding in Herbology to be accepted into the N.E.W.T program to become a Healer someday.” She tapped him friendly on the shoulder. “Herbology isn’t anything to be embarrassed about. If you ever want anyone to talk plants with, come find me in the library, Neville. Honest. I love Herbology. It's why I feel so at home in the Hufflepuff common room. Professor Sprout has all these cute plants that will wave at you and make the room smell so... inviting.” 

The two said their goodbyes and Ophelia Flooed back to the Burrow where she set out to write to Sirius Black which she hadn’t done directly yet this entire Summer.

_Hello Padfoot and Moony._

_I hope you are well._

_I just was at St. Mungo’s and ran into the Longbottoms. They look rather scared of me and I was just wondering… do I resemble anyone who those two in particular would fear. I think you understand what I’m trying to say without me putting it in writing._

_Anyways, I also had a strange encounter with my Healer who said my account was paid for. I’m just feeling guilty and wondering where this money is coming from._

_Thank you._

_-Ophelia_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone else just love Neville/ have a soft spot for him? Because, ugh I do. I think he's such a nice character.
> 
> Anyways! I hope you all are enjoying Missing puzzle Pieces. I have been writing like crazy because I have all these ideas. I apologize for any typos if they occur, I only write for fun and I try to edit and catch them, but sometimes things happen.


	42. Chapter Forty-Two: Portkeys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I am blown away by the support that people are giving the story. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Forty-Two: Portkeys**

The day that Mr. Weasley, the twins, and Ron would collect Harry came faster than anyone had expected. Ophelia and Ginny were sitting with Charlie in the kitchen while Mrs. Weasley was baking cookies for the arrival of the Boy-Who-Lived. 

The twins and Ron were the first couple people out of the Floo. Fred and George were talking animatedly about how they thought Dudley was reacting. When Harry stumbled out of the fireplace, his green eyes traveled around the room trying to find the twins. Fred was by his side in a moment. “Did he eat it?”

“Yeah. What was it, exactly?” Harry raised a black eyebrow and ruffled his already messed up hair. 

“Ton-Tongue Toffee,” Fred said brightly. “George and I invented them, and we’ve been looking for someone to test them on all summer…”

Charlie interrupted their conversation. “How’re you doing, Harry?”

“Fine.” He shook the dragon tamers hand as a crack filled the room and Mr. Weasley was fuming next to the twins.

“That wasn’t funny, Fred! What on earth did you give that muggle boy?”

“I didn’t give him anything, I must’ve dropped it… It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to.” Fred had a wicked gleam in his eye that made Ophelia think back to all the times she helped the twins with pranks at the castle. 

“You dropped it on purpose! You knew he’d eat it, you knew he was on a diet--”

George interrupted their father’s rant. “Dad, how big did his tongue get?”

“It was four feet long before his parents would even let me shrink it!”

Everyone besides Mr. Weasley began to laugh around the kitchen table. Ophelia caught a glimpse of the twins and shook her head in disbelief as they returned her look with winks. “It isn’t funny!” Mr. Weasley shouted over the laughter. “That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half of my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons--”

“Dad… we didn’t give it to him because he’s a Muggle!” Fred complained and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Yea. We gave him those because he’s a bullying git. Isn’t he, Harry?” George nudged the smaller Gryffindors shoulder. 

Harry nodded and fixed his glasses. “He really is, Mr. Weasley.”

“That’s not the point!” Mr. Weasley rubbed his eyes. “You wait until I tell your mother--”

“Tell me what?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she came in the room with the plate of cookies in her hand. Her eyes were narrowed with suspicion as she set the plate down in the center of the table.

Mr. Weasley hesitated and glanced at the twins. “Oh… it was nothing, dear. Fred and George just-- but I’ve had words with them--”

“What have they done this time? If it has anything to do with Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes--”

The twins shared a glance as Ophelia nicked a cookie from the table and leaned in to whisper into Charlie’s ear. “This ought to be good.” The older Weasley snickered as he grabbed a frosted cookie for himself. 

Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny all snuck off upstairs while Mrs. Weasley began to scream at the twins about how dangerous their joke shop products were and how she would refuse to have them continue to experiment under her roof. Charlie, Bill, and Ophelia were silently whispering to each other, making bets on the punishments and yelling. Ophelia won one sickle that Mrs. Weasley would bring up the term Muggle boy and Muggle treatment more than 10 times, Charlie won a sickle because he thought the twins would be threatened to get kicked out of the Burrow, and Bill won two sickles because he bet that Mrs. Weasley would begin throwing things around in the kitchen in anger.

At the end of the lecture, the twins and the other children snuck off while Mr. Weasley attempted to calm down his distraught wife. They were helping Ophelia move her things from Bill’s old room to Ginny’s where she would be sleeping for tonight while Bill was at the Burrow. She insisted that he get his room back instead of forcing him to crash with Charlie like he offered. 

When they were all walking into Ginny’s room, Charlie grabbed her shoulder. “So… I hear I owe Tonks some money.”

“I dunno. Actually.” She clipped and bit her cheek. “It might’ve been short lived.”

“You and Diggory? Oh come on. What happened?” The dragon tamer furrowed his red eyebrows. “You were always attached at the hip.”

“Your dad didn’t tell you?” Ophelia shifted her weight awkwardly between her feet and sighed. “I was in a bad spot mentally and my magic sort of exploded and Cedric was the target. He sent me a letter saying his dad din’t think we should hangout alone this Summer. I don’t know what that meant.”

“Well… if he did break you heart. I’ll kick his ass for you. That goes for anyone. Even if it’s one of my brothers.”

“Charlie!” She swatted his arm. “I’m not even entertaining the thought of dating one of your brothers.”

“Oh come on… you know us Weasley men are rather dashing.” He winked as she shoved him aside and walked into Ginny’s room. 

“What were you two blatherin about?” Bill asked as he set down her trunk at the foot of the cot with the yellow knit blanket on it. 

“Nothing that concerns anyone else.” Charlie smiled cheekily. “Come on, everyone. Let’s play some Exploding Snap before mum demands we go to bed.”

They all went down into the living room and took turns playing the winner of Exploding Snap while Bill put on the muggle radio, letting the music feel the space as well as the laughter and talk from the Weasley siblings. Ophelia was sitting on the armchair with her knees tucked into her chest as she smiled, wishing that she had a big family like this to enjoy her time. “Sickle for your thought?” Ginny asked as she sat on the armrest of the chair.

“I just wish I had a big family like you, Gin.”

“You can have them.” She snorted but then seriously looked at Ophelia. “But you do realize you are family, right? You’re living with us and everything. I mean… I know I see you as an older sister.” The younger girl blushed slightly at the confession. 

Ophelia brought the girl into a tight girl before pulling her up onto her feet, just like Ginny did to her a few weeks ago. “I love this song.” The two girls began bobbing up and down and singing along to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” that was now blaring loudly in the living room as Bill was trying to drown out their off tune voices. This only made the two girls begin to laugh wildly and flail around the living room without a care in the world. She glanced around the room and caught Fred smile softly at her with a strange look in her eye that she didn’t have time to decipher since Charlie was now up after losing his hand in Exploding Snap and joined the girls as they danced around singing into their bottles of Pumpkin juice like they were Muggle microphones. 

They went on like this, dancing around, until Mrs. Weasley came down and yelled at them. “You all have an early morning tomorrow! Now go to bed.”

The next morning, Hermione woke the girls up and they ran around the room quickly grabbing their things. It was still dark outside, which made it very hard for Ophelia to have motivation to get moving. 

Mrs. Weasley had breakfast ready with quick things for everyone to grab and go. Ophelia grabbed a Thermos that was charmed to stay warm for the entire time that it held contents and she poured it to the top with coffee. She added some cream and sugar and did the same for one for Ginny. 

She turned around when the twins appeared in the kitchen. “Pockets!” Mrs. Weasley yelled at them and waved her wand where several brightly colored objects flew out of their pockets. “We spent six months developing those!” Fred shouted as Mrs. Weasley destroyed the toffees. 

“What a perfect way to spend your time at Hogwarts. No wonder you didn’t get more O.W.Ls! Ophelia!”

The Hufflepuff girl froze with her eyes wide open staring at Mrs. Weasley. “Er-- yes, Molly?”

“How many O.W.Ls did you get?”

She closed her eyes, she hated when she was asked this question. It was always to rub in the face of the twins that they hadn’t gotten as many. “Twelve.” She whispered.

“TWELVE! If Ophelia could manage 12 by herself you should've managed 12 together at least!” Mrs. Weasley was shrieking and Ophelia cringed, not wanting to be involved. 

“Molly dear…” Mr. Weasley checked the family clock which now had all the Weasley’s pointing to _late_. 

“Oh… sorry. Well, behave yourself!” She called out as the group walked outside. 

It was chilly and the moon was still out in the sky. Fred yawned and groaned. “I didn’t even get a chance to get some coffee because Mum was in a mood.”

“Cream and Sugar?” Ophelia held out the large, green thermos to him and smiled. 

His eyes lit up and he smiled down at her. “Thanks, O.” Fred took the thermos and held it to his lips, taking a long drag of coffee before sighing happily. “You’re a lifesaver.”

“You should make something for people who do like to study. Something that keeps you away. You could alter a pepper-up potion and make it into a candy that tastes like coffee or something for people who need to study late or when you’re running late in the morning and don’t have time for your usual cup of coffee.” She realized she was rambling and bit her lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to butt in to your guys’ inventions.”

“No! That’s a brilliant idea!” He pulled out a small notebook from his back pocket and scribbled it down.

When they walked over a hill they heard Amos Diggory call out to them. “Over here! Cedric and I are near the Portkey!”

“Hi, everyone!” Cedric said to them.

Everyone said hi back except for Fred and George, who merely nodded. They had never quite forgiven Cedric for beating Gryffindor in Quidditch and Fred simply couldn’t even handle someone bringing up Cedric after he found out that he was snogging Ophelia in the hallways. 

“I can’t believe how many galleons these tickets cost me. Mind you, I think two tickets is easy compared to your lot. Are they all yours?” Amos glanced at the group. 

“Oh no, only the redheads. This is Hermione and Harry, Ron’s friend--”

“Blimey, _Harry Potter_. Well it is excellent to meet you.” Amos shook his hand while Harry blushed awkwardly.

Mr. Weasley cleared his throat and continued. “Er-- yes. And well you remember Ophelia.”

“Hi, Mr. Diggory.”

“Mhmm. Yes. Hello, Ophelia.” Mr. Diggory didn’t meet Ophelia’s eyes which made her stomach sink as she glanced at Cedric who was looking at the ground. 

Mr. Diggory went over to talk to Harry and Ophelia took this opportunity to sneak over to Cedric. “Hey. How are you?”

“Fine. I just think maybe we shouldn’t talk when my dad is around. He’s still mad about what happened.”

“Oh.” She felt the tears sting in her eyes. “I guess I didn’t realize that when you said we couldn’t be alone you meant I couldn’t talk to you at all.”

“Just not around my dad. When we are back at Hogwarts it can go back to how it was. For now, I just think we should keep it a secret.” Cedric rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“You want to keep me a secret from your parents?” The hurt that she was feeling was noticeable in her voice as it trembled slightly. “I don’t like that, Ced.”

“Well… I can’t be seen with you with my dad. He thinks you’re dangerous. He thinks it’s because you’re the daughter of a werewolf.”

“Well… that’s just… that’s just…” Ophelia was rambling and stuttering trying to think of words to say. “Ridiculous.” She settled on. “You have no idea what I’m going through, Ced. And I’m sorry but- but- if you can’t be proud of me. I don’t think I want to be with you.”

Cedric straightened up and cleared his throat. “If that’s what you want.”

“It’s not what I want. You give me no choice if you don’t want to be with me in public. I’m not some secret that you can kiss whenever you please.” She turned on her heels and marched over to Ginny who was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. 

Mr. Weasley peared at his pocket watch. “Alright everyone, we have 30 seconds. Everyone touch the Portkey!”

Suddenly, the feeling of portkey travel jerked Ophelia through her navel like a magnetic pull until she was thrown towards the ground. She landed on her feet and swayed slightly. She turned to Ginny and reached out her arm to help pull her up while Mr. Weasley checked in as well as Mr. Diggory. 

The group began to follow Mr. Weasley went to their campsite and separated from the Diggory family. She was thankful to not be near Cedric since she didn’t know if she would be able to hold in the tears much longer. 

They trudged up the misty field between long rows of small tents. Finally, they made their way to a small tent. “Here we are!” Mr. Weasley cheered. “Come on, have a look.”

The group bent down, and ducked under the tent flap. Ophelia walked into the kitchen and set her things down as the twins came sitting next to her where they kicked their feet up on the table and looked around the tent. Mr. Weasley came in the kitchen and began to shout. “Ginny get unpacked! Ron get out of the kitchen, we are all hungry!”

The twins chorused. “Yea, get out of the kitchen, Ron!”

Mr. Weasley turned to them. “Get your feet off the table!”

“Feet off the table!” They sang together and lifted their feet until their father turned away before they set their feet back on the wooden kitchen table. 

“You two are impossible.” Ophelia shook her head and tried to laugh but was still recovering from her tears from her conversation with Cedric. 

“Yes… but you love it.” George smiled and ruffled her hair before she could dodge away from his hand. 

She rolled her eyes and continued to observe the chaos of the Weasley family in the tent as Mr. Weasley was trying to get everything set up. Thankfully, tonight the World Cup would be the perfect excuse to keep her mind off of things. 


	43. Chapter Forty-Three: Quidditch World Cup

**Chapter Forty-Three: Quidditch World Cup**

Ophelia was sitting on top of the kitchen table as she painted a small Ireland flag on Charlie Weasley’s freckled cheek as the group that was still in the tent listened to the muggle radio while they were getting ready for the match. “Do you think I’ll catch all the ladies eyes tonight with this?” Charlie winked at her when she finished.

“Of course. It’s a babe magnet.” She laughed as he got up and went to the boys room to get dressed in his Ireland gear. 

“Fancy helping me get festive?” Fred asked as he slid into the chair that Charlie was sitting on, he was already sporting a bright green knit jumper that Mrs. Weasley had made for him for a holiday.

Ophelia turned to him. “Bulgaria or Ireland?”

“Ireland of course. Come on, now.” He teased her and gestured to the bright green he was already wearing.

She blushed and held his face still with her left hand while she began to paint the white base for the flag against his cheek. “Wasn’t sure. I thought I heard you saying that you think Krum is going to catch the snitch.”

“I do think that.” Fred smirked. “But I still think Ireland is going to win.”

“So confident, now… aren’t we.” She teased him as she dipped the brush into the orange face paint. 

“Only with Quidditch.” He smiled.

“Stop smiling, you’re ruining my artwork.”

“Sorry, O.” He winked jokingly before clearing his throat and looking at her very seriously. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?” She sighed as she dipped the brush back into the thick orange paint for a second layer. 

“I saw you talking to Diggory. Then you were almost in tears. You can… talk to me about it.” Fred frowned and looked at the wrinkles in her forehead. 

“I’m fine. I just… Cedric and I broke up because of my accident.” She set her jaw and stared at him, waiting for his gloating reaction.

It didn’t come. Instead, Fred looked shocked. “Oh.”

“Yea.” She said flatly as she cleaned off the paint brush and dipped it into a green color. “His dad thinks I’m dangerous.”

“Well that’s bloody ridiculous. You wouldn't hurt a fly.”

“I don’t know. Look at my family Fred. Apparently I come from a family of bloody death eaters and my adopted dad is a lycanthropy. I don’t think that really comes off as safe and friendly.” She finished the green and frowned. “You’re done.”

She went to hop off the kitchen table when he grabbed her wrist. “You aren’t any of those things, Ophelia. Anyone who judges you for your parents are bloody stupid.” He gave her a half-smile before getting up and going over to George. 

Ginny slid into the kitchen table this time and wiggled her eyebrows. “Is Charlie going to win any money against Tonks?”

“Ginny. I’m not dating anyone right now. I’m just going to worry about my studies. When that was the case, it served me well. Now, do you want face paint or not?”

“Yes, please!” 

Once all of the Weasley’s were ready, they left to go off to the pitch. On their way there, they ran into Ludo Bagman. “Ahoy there! Arthur, old man. What a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? Anyways, fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?”

Mr. Weasley sighed. “How about a Galleon on Ireland to win?”

“A Galleon?” Bagaman sounded disappointed. “Very well, very well… any other takers?”

“They’re a bit young to be gambling--” Mr. Weasley began but was cut off by Fred and George quickly pooling together their money. 

Fred spoke up. “We’ll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts that Ireland wins-- but Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we’ll throw in a fake wand.”

“You don’t want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that--” Percy hissed by Bagman instead was showing excitement at the wand that gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken.

“They’ll actually bet fourty-seven Galleons, 17 Sickles, and 5 Knuts.” Ophelia smiled and handed Bagman the rest of the bet from her own heavy pockets.

“Boys… that’s all of your savings… Ophelia, that's a lot of money as well.” Mr. Weasley was looking worriedly at the group of 6th years.

“Don’t be a spoilsport, Arthur!” Mr. Bagman boomed as he rattled his pockets. “They’re old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum’ll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance… I’ll give you excellent odds on that one… We’ll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we…”

Mr. Weasley was rubbing his eyes helplessly as Mr. Bagman was writing frantically in his notebook. “Cheers!” George exclaimed as he took the slip and tucked it away in the front of his robes. 

When the twins were out of ear shot from Bagman and the others were distracted with souvenirs the twins turned to Ophelia. “Are you sure you want to spend your money on that bet? You don’t even know what it’s for.”

“You boys don’t throw around money like that so I figured it was important. How about you tell me.” She smiled as they walked past food vendors. She bought them three souvenir cups and had them filled with butterbeer that was dyed green for Ireland. 

“Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.” Fred blushed.

“Well… consider it an investment then. I’ll be your first investor!” She cheered and clanked her souvenir cup to theirs. “Cheers!”

They joined the others as they were finding their way to their seats. Ophelia was skipping, she was filled with such joy and the buzz of the Butterbeer that was charmed to keep refilling as it was drained. Mr. Weasley lead them down a lantern-lit trail and the sound of shouts and laughter filled the air which only made Ophelia feel more light hearted. 

A hundred thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats, which rose in levels around the long oval field. Everything was lit up with a mysterious golden light, which seemed to come from the stadium itself. The field looked smooth as velvet from their lofty position. At either end of the field stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high. Ron was panting as they climbed the stairs. “How much further dad?”

A cruel drawl came from a level below them. “Well… put it this way… if it should rain… you’ll be the first to know.” The group saw Lucius Malfoy smirk at them.

Ophelia gulped thinking to herself,  _ this is your uncle _ . 

Draco Malfoy sneered up at the group. “We are going to sit with the minister!”

“Don’t boast, Draco. Especially not to this… crowd.” Lucius gave them all a disapproving look before the pale blonde heads continued to move towards the plush ministry box. 

_ That’s your cousin, Draco fucking Malfoy is your younger cousin and Lucious Malfoy is your uncle… _

She ignored the thought as they continued to climb until they were at the very top level of the stadium. She pulled out her binoculars and watched the action on the pitch. “And now, kindly put your wand in the air… for the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you-- Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaand-- Krum!” The scarlet robe team came darting out of the tunnel and the crowd with scarlet clad souvenirs began to cheer wildly. Ron and Harry were hooting and hollering until it sounded like they wouldn’t be able to speak for a week from the effort. 

“And now, please greet-- the Irish National Quidditch Team! Presting-- Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaan-- Lynch!” Seven green blurs swept onto the field and the Weasley group, minus Harry and Ron, began to cheer wildly for the Irish. 

“Aaaand they’re off! And it’s Mullet! Troy! Moran! Dimitrov! Back to Mullet!” The game was so fast, it was fascinating to watch. Ophelia was following her eyes with the Quaffle, wishing that she could be half as talented as these professionals. 

The game was fast and Ireland was scoring by a lot. It was a dirty game that reminded her of a Slytherin match. Ireland seemed to be scoring at a rapid pace that she didn’t even think was possible! 

The score was 170-10 when Krum and Lynch dove for a golden flash. “The Snitch, where’s the Snitch?” Charlie screamed just as Viktor Krum came soaring up with the snitch firmly in his hand bringing the score Bulgaria 160 and Ireland 170. “Ireland wins!!”

Ophelia turned to the twins and shook them. “You both were right!!! Ireland won but Krum caught the Snitch!! You won!!!” She was so overjoyed with excitement that she leapt up and kissed them both on the cheek.

Once they got their huge stack of money from Bagman, Mr. Weasley was still nervous. “Don’t tell your mother you’ve been gamlbing!”

“Don’t worry, Dad. We’ve got big plans for this money. We don’t want it confiscated.” Fred smiled as he put the bag safely in his pocket. 

When the group did make it back to the tent, they were still so amped up that no one wanted to sleep. Ophelia was swaying as she danced around the fire with the others doing Ireland dances. She was buzzed from all of the Butterbeer that she consumed tonight and was too embarrassed to tell Mr. Weasley when he made a comment that she was in high spirits. “Krum is like an artist!” Ron was proclaiming to the group.

Ginny nudged her older brother. “I think you’re in love, Ron!”

The twins began to sing a love tune that everyone else joined in, minus Ron who was blushing and shaking his head at the ridiculousness. They were interrupted by screams coming from outside of the tent and George laughed. “Sounds like the Irish got their pride on.”

“Stop!” Mr. Weasley came running in from checking the situation outside. “We must go. It’s not the Irish.”

The group went running outside and with the light of the torches and fires on the various campsites, they could see wizards marching slowly across the field with their hoods up above their heads and they were all wearing masks. Mr. Weasley turned to the group. “Bill, Charlie, Percy, you come with me. We are going to help the Ministry! You lot-- get into the woods, and stick together! I’ll come and fetch you when we’ve sorted this out! Fred and George, you’re in charge of your sister!” With that the three oldest Weasley’s ran off with their father.

Fred grabbed Ginny’s hand and began to pull her towards the woods while George and Ophelia followed after them. They didn’t stop until they reached the trees. Ophelia leaned down and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath when she realized that they weren’t all there. “Where’s Harry, Ron, and Hermione?”

Fred and George turned around frantically. “Oh no… no… no…”

Ginny began to whimper. “Hermione is a muggle-born… you don’t think that…”

The sentence drifted off and they tried not to think of what would happen to their friend if she was caught by the masked wizards who were drunkenly causing chaos and havoc along the campsite. There were screams and more witches and wizards were running into the trees, away from the death eaters who were levitation muggles and setting things on fire at the campsite. 

Bill found them amongst the other frightened wizards, his arm was bleeding profusely. “Bill! Ophelia ran up to him and checked the wound like she had done thousands of times for her dad after a transformation. “We need to get back to the tent where there are supplies that I can help you.”

He nodded. “I came to get you all. It’s fine to go back now. Just… lay low. Someone put the Mark in the sky.”

Fear filled Ophelia’s stomach. “The  _ dark mark _ ? Who would do that?”

Bill shook his head. “Now's not the time to discuss it, come on. Let’s go.” 

They made their way back to the tent and Ophelia immediately got to work. She grabbed the safety kit that Mrs. Weasley had packed and grabbed some disinfectant potion and some dittany. She had Bill sit down at the kitchen table and apologized, saying that it might hurt a bit. While she was working on Bill’s injuries, the others came to the tent. “Did you get them, Dad? The person who conjured the Mark?” Bill said sharply, wincing a little as the potions burned at his wound.

“No. We found Barty Crouch’s elf holding Harry’s wand, but we’re none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark.”

“What?” The three older boys demanded together.

“Harry’s wand?” Fred asked.

Mr. Weasley began to explain what had happened. ANd Percy swelled. “Well, Mr. Croush is quite right to get rid of an elf like that! Running away when he’d expressly told her not to… embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry… how would that have looked, if she’d been brought up in front of the Department of Regulation and Control--” 

Hermione was fuming. “She didn’t do anything!”

“Look, can someone just explain what that skull thing was? It wasn’t hurting anyone… Why’s it such a big deal?” Ron turned to his father with an exhausted look on his face like he was trying hard to solve an equation to an arithmancy equation.

“I told you, it’s You-Know-Who’s symbol, Ron. And it hasn’t been seen for thirteen years.” Mr. Weasley sighed and sat down next to Bill and Ophelia as he observed her work on his oldest son. “It was like seeing him back, again. He would only put that Mark into the sky whenever they killed. You have no idea the terror it inspired. Just picture coming home and find the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you’re about to find inside…”

Ophelia’s hands froze as she pictured her mother and her grandparents, all dead inside their home with that horrible looking skull floating above their house. Did Sirius and Remus find them like that? Did they rot inside the house for a while before someone came to visit? Did Peter Pettigrew smile when he put the Mark in the sky, proving his worthiness to You-Know-Who. 

Mr. Weasley seemed to see how uncomfortable she was with the present conversation as he cleared his throat. “Listen, it’s very late. We’ll get a few more house sleep and then get an early Portkey out of here. No go to bed.”


	44. Chapter Forty-Four: The Triwizard Tournament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all are enjoying reading this! As we go into the Goblet of Fire school year, I'm so excited to get to write about new characters and all of the tasks! I hope you enjoy :)

**Chapter Forty-Four: The Triwizard Tournament**

Neither Mr. Weasley nor Percy were at the Burrow much for the following week. They seemed to be working all day and night, even on the weekend. “Your father hasn’t had to go into the office on weekends since the days of You-Know-Who. They’re working him far too hard.”

Mr. Weasley had been working even harder since Rita Skeeter put in a comment that he had mentioned in the Daily Prophet. Percy was annoyed with his actions. When he came home and Mrs. Weasley was complaining about Arthur working so much he sneered. “Well, he feels he’s got to make up for his mistake. If truth be told, he was a tad unwise to make a public statement.”

“Don’t you dare blame your father for what that Skeeter woman wrote!” Mrs. Weasley pointed a finger at Percy who simply held his hands up in defence. 

“If Dad hadn’t said anything, she would just have said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented. Rita Skeeter never makes anyone look good. Remember, she interviewed all the Gringotts’ Charm Breakers once, and called me ‘a long-haired pillock’?” Bill shook his head as he moved a pawn on the chess board that he was playing with Ron. 

Ophelia looked up from her _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6_ book from the far corner with Fred and George. They were whispering with their heads bent over a parchment paper. Mrs. Weasley noticed and demanded to know what they were doing.

“Homework.” Fred said vaguely.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re still on holiday.”

“Yea, we’ve left it a bit late.” George said.

“You’re not by any chance writing out a new order form, are you?” Mrs. Weasley crossed her arms over her apron with a frown.

“Now, Mum.” Fred said looking pained at his mother. “If the Hogwarts Express crashed tomorrow, and George and I died, how would you feel to know that the last thing we ever heard from you was an unfounded accusation?”

Everyone laughed and Mrs. Weasley was distracted by her husband coming home. “Smooth.” Ophelia wiggled her eyebrows as she turned the page of her textbook. “Very smooth. The Weasley twins doing homework in the summer. How believable.” 

George shoved her and she fell off of the little stool she was sitting on. “You know what we are doing is important. We have to get a hold of Bagman. He scammed us, big time.”

“I know. I know.” She sat back on the stool and re-opened her book to the correct page that she was on. “I just wish you would let me help pay for some things--”

“No.” Fred said firmly. “The only reason we let you add money to the bet is because you didn’t ask us.”

She sighed and went back to reading as the twins struggled with how they wanted to word their letter to Bagman asking for their money to explain that he accidentally gave them Leprechaun gold. Eroll came swooping in with a letter and another pitch black barn owl next to him. Ophelia jumped up and took the letter off of Erolls leg. It was a response from Sirius and her dad. 

_Ophelia,_

_Yes. I paid for your hospital bills. I have enough money that I can take care of you, please let me do so. Also, with that money I took the liberty to get you an owl. The one you use is rubbish. Attached to the black owl is all his paperwork and money for you to get school supplies. Please take it. I want to help._

_-Padfoot_

_Ophelia,_

_I’m so happy that you’re taking care of yourself, dear. I love you so much and I wish I was there to help you with all this. I knew that this might’ve been an issue when you dealt with your anxiety attacks but I never wished for it to actually happen._

_I hope you have an excellent year at Hogwarts and please be safe._

_To answer your question, yes. You do look like someone they may have feared. Personally, I think you look more like Andromeda but to someone with PTSD, I don’t think it would matter much._

_Love you, always._

_-Moony_

She smiled at the black bird and cocked her head trying to think of a name. She pet the owl affectionately and smiled. “You’re going to be Stella.” The owl hooted as Ophelia took the package of money off of her leg.

“You’ve got an owl?” Ginny asked as she pet Stella affectionately. “Would you mind if I borrowed it occasionally before we go back to school to send letters to my friend Luna? I can’t tell if Eroll isn’t finding their house or if Luna is just… not taking the letter off of his leg.”

“Of course, Gin! Anytime.” She smiled at the Gryffindor girl and went to go grab Stella a treat.

When she returned to the living room, the twins had their heads tucked close together as they were arguing about the letter still. She sighed, not wanting to bother them and turned her attention over to Bill and Ron who were playing a game of Wizard’s Chess. That wouldn’t do either, Ron would just harass her for not being very good. She looked at Charlie and Ginny who were playing Exploding Snap with Harry watching them while Hermione had her nose tucked into the Grade 4 Spellbook.

Ophelia decided to join their group. She sat down on the floor, next to Harry and tucked her legs up to her chest. She looked at the boy with messy hair as he laughed carefree at the arguments and taunts Charlie and Ginny were throwing at each other. “Harry?”

He turned his green eyes to look at her with a smile on her face. “Yes, Ophelia?”

“I just… I wanted to apologize for how I talked to you on the last day of term. When… I was screaming at you about family.” She put her chin on her kneecaps, staring at the Exploding Snap instead of the Chosen One.

“Don’t worry about it, Ophelia. You were hurt. I think I had more time to process all the information and he was my Godfather, not my dad.” He smiled and nudged her shoulder with his own. “Chin up! I don’t mind, honestly. It’s already forgiven and forgotten about.”

“I was really cruel. I told you that we weren’t family when… that’s not necessarily true is it.” She smiled up at him now. “You know… I never grew up with any siblings and I always wanted one.”

“I grew up with Dudley but… he’s more of a bully than anything.” Harry smiled as the two laughed. “When do you think all of us will be able to be together?”

“Hopefully soon.” She sighed and played with a loose string on the rug. “My dad, he is a great listener. I remember we would make puzzles and I would just rant the entire time, and he always somehow knew what to say.” Her heart sank slightly at the homesick feeling. 

“He’s an excellent teacher. He taught me how to cast a Patronus.”

“Did he really?” She turned her eyes to him and smiled sadly. “He was going to teach me how this Summer but… things… change.”

The Gryffindor boy seemed to understand that she didn’t want to talk about it more and instead turned their conversation to the game of Exploding Snap and the upcoming Quidditch season. Ophelia really needed to think if she wanted to play. She didn’t think she could handle having Cedric tell her what to do.

The morning to leave for the Hogwarts Express came faster than she could have imagined. When she got to the platform between 9 and 10, she smiled at the memory of her father taking her here during her first year at Hogwarts. She walked straight through the barrier and sighed with a feeling of returning home when the atmosphere changed as the Hogwarts Express was in view with steam coming out from the engine, ready to take the children to a magical new school year. “Ophelia!”

She turned her head to see Grace running up to her and slamming into her in a huge hug. “I’ve missed you, too.” She laughed as her smaller friend let go and flicked her glossy hair over her shoulder with perfectly manicured, yellow nails. 

“Cedric told me you two broke up. How are you doing?”

“Cedric told you?” She clenched her jaws, scanning the crowd for his bronze hair.

“Well… you weren’t answering my letters and I was getting worried.” Grace bit her lip. “I didn’t realize how your Summer went. I’m sorry. He said he broke up with you. Are you okay?”

 _Cedric was painting himself as the villain?_ Her head was confused with the new information and she opened her mouth to speak but no thoughts were forming a sentence. She decided just to nod to answer Grace’s question. Grace’s mother was calling for her and she ran back to her group while Ginny grabbed Ophelia’s wrist and pulled her back to the Weasley’s to say their goodbyes.

When she hugged Charlie, he gave her a small pep talk that she should stay strong. “I wish you were coming to Hogwarts with us. You always knew how to cheer me up when I needed it.”

He ruffled her hair and smiled. “I might be seeing you all sooner than you think.” He moved to hug Ginny good-bye.

Fred looked excitedly at his older brother. “Why?”

“You’ll see! Just don’t tell Percy I mentioned it…” Charlie pretended to shove a pair of glasses up his nose and changed his voice to mimic their brother. “It’s classified information , until such time as the Ministry sees fit to release it.” 

The group all laughed and started to think what could possibly be classified that Charlie couldn’t tell them about that would also include seeing him at Hogwarts this year? Bill sighed longingly as he stared at the gleaming red train. “Yea, I sort of wish I were back at Hogwarts this year.”

“Why?” George asked impatiently. “You have to tell us now.”

“You’re going to have an interesting year. I might even get time off to come and watch a bit of it..” Bill smiled at Charlie who was sniggering at all the secrets.

“A bit of what?” Ron demanded.

The whistle on the Hogwarts Express blew and Mrs. Weasley shooed off the group of children towards the train. Grace caught up with the twins and Ophelia as they got a compartment to lean out the window and wave to their families on the platform. 

The ride to Hogwarts was filled with guessing what the Weasley’s were hinting at. They were trying to piece together information like it being classified, dangerous, and fun. This could be anything in the wizarding world and it was driving Ophelia nuts not knowing. 

When they got off the platform, the students climbed into a horseless carriage. The twins, Lee, Angelina, Ophelia, and Grace all squeezed onto one and stared as the castle got closer and closer as the carriages rumbled along the path. 

When the group got to the corridor of the Great Hall, Grace grabbed Ophelia’s arm as they skipped over to the Hufflepuff table, leaving their Gryffindor friends to go their own way. When they did get to the table there was an awkward pause because they obviously were going to sit with Jacob and Cedric like they have done for 6 years now. However, when the girls got to the table to sit across from theml, Ophelia felt awkward as Cedric tried to smile at her.

The group sat down and Jacob and Grace carried the conversation with small chit-chat, ignoring questions like how was their summer. Cedric must’ve told both of them that they broke up over the holiday. 

She had never been more thankful for Professor McGonagall to interrupt them. The professor placed the sorting hat on the four-legged stool for the Sorting Hat to sing it’s song. After it bowed, the Great Hall rang with applause to honor the hat’s hard work and time to come up with a song.   
The Sorting began and Ophelia cheered and hollered whenever a young boy or girl was sorted into Hufflepuff and joined the ranks of canary-yellow trimmed robes. After every first year was accounted for, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet as he smiled at all of his students. “I have only two words to say to you. _Tuck in!”_

The empty dishes filled before their eyes and Ophelia scooped some buttered corn onto her plate as well as a baked potato and a lamb chop. She devoured the food and even had a piece of rich, chocolate cake for dessert. When all of the students were done eating, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The buzz of chatter filling the Great Hall ceased immediately as he smiled at all of them. “So! Now that we are all fed and watered. I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-Yos, Fanged Fisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items. I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch’s office, if anybody would like to check it. As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is all my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year.”

All of the Quidditch members of the four houses were complaining at the tables, all except Ophelia who thought she could do a dance of happiness since this handled her problem of quitting the team all together this year. “Silence! This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers’ time and energy-- but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts--” 

He was cut off by a thunderous rumble and the doors of the Great Hall flew open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning against a long staff. He began to walk up to the head table, a dull clunk echoed through the Great Hall every other step. Professor Dumbledore smiled at the odd looking man and shook his hand. “May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Professor Moody!”

“Mad-Eye Moody? He works at the Ministry, or he did as an Auror.” Cedric whispered to their small group of friends. “I bet he’ll be the real deal.”

“As opposed to what?” Ophelia snapped looking at Cedric.

“I wasn’t referring to your dad, O.” He blushed and shook his head before turning his attention back up to the head table. 

Dumbledore cleared his throat. “As I was saying, we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year!”

Fred cried out loudly, booming through the Great Hall. “You’re joking!”

Everyone began to laugh and Dumbledore chuckled. “I am not joking, Mr. Weasley. Though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar…” He was cut off by Professor McGonagall clearing her throat. “Er-- but maybe this is not the time… no… where was I? Ah yes, The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beuxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities-- until that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued. There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament. None of which has been very successful. However, our own Departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The Heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their shortlisted contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money.”

“I’m going for it!” Fred shouted and Ophelia could see that his face was lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. Cedric too was talking to Jacob animatedly about bringing pride to Hogwarts and entering his name.

“Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts… the Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age by the time the names are drawn on Halloween will be considered.” 

“That’s rubbish!!!!!” The twins were shouting as well as a bunch of other students in the Great Hall. 

Cedric smiled. “I’ll be 17.”

“Me too.” Ophelia breathed out, the possibility of all those galleons swam in front of her eyes. She could do so much good with that type of money. She could help the twins start their business, get Ginny new robes, buy her father new robes… the list was endless. 

Dumbledore silenced the students. “This is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts Champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. Now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow. Bedtime!”

All of the students began to parade out of the Great Hall. Ophelia could hear the twins complaining from a few groups behind them. George was furious. “They can’t do that! We’ll be seventeen in April, why can’t we have a shot!”

“They’re not stopping me from entering. The champions’ll get to do all sorts of stuff you’d never be allowed to do normally. And a thousand Galleons prize money!” Fred shook his head as if he was dreaming about all that money.

“Who’s this impartial judge who’s going to decide who the champions are?” Harry asked.

“Dunno… but I bet a few drops of Aging Potion might do it, George…” Fred turned around, trying to find someone in the crowd. When his eyes landed on Ophelia they twinkled. “Be right back. Come on George.”

The twins went against the flow of students until they found Ophelia and pulled her aside. “What do you two want this time?”

“Help us make an aging Potion. You got an Outstanding in Potions. You’re our best shot.” Fred pleaded.

“People die in this tournament, Freddie.” She complained but the looks on the twins faces were so desperate. “Can I at least have time to think about it? If we get caught, we will get in serious trouble.”

“What’s life without a little risk?” Fred asked with a wink.

“Please think about it, Ophelia.” George pleaded. “We need that money since Bagman screwed us over with all of our savings.”

She sighed. “I’ll think about it.” The two twins gave her tight hugs and thanked her just as Grace appeared. 

“Come on, Ophelia. We will miss Professor Sprout.” She grabbed her friend's arm and tugged her away from the twins who were still looking at her with pleading eyes. 

When the two Hufflepuff girls were out of ear shot, Grace snorted. “You are rebounding pretty fast.”

“I’m not rebounding. They were asking me for Potions help.” She sighed and shook her head, trying to figure out where she would even have time to make an Aging Potion for the two Weasley’s. 

When they got to the Hufflepuff common room, they sat down on a bright yellow loveseat and smiled at the plants that were waving their petals and leaves at them from the shelves that lined the room. Ophelia sighed and took a deep breath in, taking in the familiar and comforting smell of all of the plants and the roaring fire. It was going to be an interesting year for sure and she had some big decisions to make. The first one, would she enter the tournament herself. The second one, would she help the twins cheat their way in.


	45. Chapter Forty-Five: Sixth Year

**Chapter Forty-Five: Sixth Year**

The Great Hall was filled with more buzz than usual on the first day of term. Many students were trying to figure out how to get their names entered into the Triwizard Tournament. Grace and Ophelia were currently debating if Ophelia should enter her name as they scanned through their timetables for this term. “I’m going to write to my dad and see if he would feel comfortable with me entering.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Grace argued as she dragged her manicured nail down the Monday column of their schedules. “You could be rich!”

“It’s not just about that. People die in this tournament. He’s done so much to protect me that I just think it’s respectful to ask him first.” She made mental notes to herself about her N.E.W.T courses and was excited to see who was also going to be in her classes with her since now, it was based off of what O.W.Ls you received and not simply houses. 

Her first class of the day was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall and she wanted to make a good impression. She glanced at Grace’s time table and was pleased to see she also had Transfiguration. “Why are you taking Ancient Runes?”

“I want to be a curse breaker. It wasn’t a requirement in the recommendation pamphlet but it was highly recommended.” Grace smiled. “Do you think I would be a good curse-breaker?”

Ophelia was taken off guard. When she pictured curse-breakers, she pictured the rugged men that Bill worked with at Gringotts. Grace was so petite and proper that she had a hard time picturing her doing that job. “I think that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything.” 

Grace rolled her eyes as they pushed the classroom door open and found some seats. “Cop out answer. Won’t it be weird not having Cedric and Jacob in class with us?”

Ophelia nodded and wondered who else would be in class with her. To her surprise, one Weasley twin walked in. George saw the two and smiled before taking a seat next to them. “First class without Fred. Kind of weird.”

“We were just talking about that.” Grace smiled. “Isn’t it so strange. It’s like we are getting old.”

“Speaking of getting older…” George raised his eyebrow. “Have you thought any more about the potion?”

“I’ll do it for you guys. But, I don’t want anyone to know I made it.” 

“Deal!” George cheered as Professor McGonagall walked in and gave him a look before quieting the class down of students who tested into this class from their O.W.Ls. 

She handed out the syllabus that she claimed they would live by for the N.E.W.T level classwork and that they would need to schedule out their time with all of the excitement from the tournament to keep up in this class. Ophelia nodded along and scribbled in small notes in the column of the syllabus while the rest of the class seemed to groan internally from the heavy demands that were going to be placed on them. 

After Transfiguration, they had a break where they wanted to bask in the sunlight in the courtyard. Ophelia, George, and Grace all sat down under a tree and began to wonder what the expectations of the Tournament will be. They were joined by Lee, Angelina, Alicia, and Fred who had just came out of their class. “Good news, Freddie. She said yes.” George said as his twin sat down between them.

“Brilliant!” Fred cheered with his eyes lit up. “When do you think you can begin?”

“I’m going to brew it closer to October. No point in letting it sit on a shelf for a month. It might lose it’s potency.” She closed her Transfiguration textbook that she was attempting to read. “Aren’t you guys going to ask your parents what they think about you entering?”

“No.” Fred snorted. “Why… are you asking your dads?”

“Don’t say dads.” She sniffed before shoving the textbook into her leather bag. “I’m going to write to my _dad_ , Remus. Sirius… he’s not… he’s not a dad. He didn’t raise me. Anyways, yes I’m going to ask him. Unlike you blokes, I’ll be 17 by the time of Halloween.”

“You’re so lucky.” Fred groaned as he laid his head down on her shoulder. “I hate having an April birthday. I wish that the rule was if you will be 17 sometime during the tournament.”

“It’s okay, you’re just a _baby_. Might as well be an ickle-first year.” She ruffled his bright red hair which caused him to shake his head deviously. 

“You’re going to get it, Lupin.” He began to tickle her sides and she snorted out a loud laughter, ignoring the looks from the others in the group.

“Okay, truce! Truce!” She jumped out of his grip and checked her wrist watch. “Besides, I have to be off to Herbology.”

“Herbology? Me too!” He sprang up and smiled down at her. “Want to walk to the greenhouses together?”

Something swirled in her stomach and she blushed a little while nodding her head. The two set off for the Greenhouses as they admired the beautiful weather that the castle was covered in. “I can’t believe you aren’t going to enter your name possibly. If I was 17, I would for sure enter.” Fred shook his head and looked off to the mountains.

“Well… I was all my dad had up until a couple months ago. I think he will be happy I asked. If he truly doesn’t want me to enter, I won’t.”

“I’m glad you’re helping George and I enter. We need that prize money for Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.” He sighed and shook his head. “I can’t believe Bagman screwed us.”

“It’ll be okay, Freddie. You guys always seem to figure things out.” She smiled and rubbed his back, soothingly.

He looked down at her with surprise on his face. “Thanks, O…”

Professor Sprout greeted them as they walked into the Greenhouse and found a spot to stand by themselves. The other students began to file in as they said their hellos to the Professor. Ophelia bit her bottom lip and looked up at Fred. “Will you be mad if the Potion doesn’t work?”

He laughed. “Are you doubting your mad skills?”

“No… it’s just… Dumbledore is very smart. I’m worried he will see through it. I just want to make sure you won’t be mad.”

“I won’t be mad at you if that’s what you’re worried about.” Fred smiled and ruffled her head. “You worry too much, Lupin.”

“I’ve been told.” She rolled her eyes and focused her attention on the front of the Greenhouse where Professor Sprout was just beginning class and covering what they would be learning about this year. She scribbled all of the notes on a piece of notebook paper and was thankful when they were able to observe the various plants in the Greenhouse to get an idea of what they would be covering in more depth.

After Herbology, they cast scourgifying charms on their robes to get the dirt off of them before they were off to the last class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ophelia froze outside of the classroom doors and took a deep breath. “What’s wrong?” Fred asked with concern in his warm, brown eyes.

“I just miss my dad. Sorry. I wasn’t expecting coming into this classroom to be hard.” She smiled sadly before leading the two of them into the classroom where they sat down next to Grace and George who were already talking animatedly about the differences between the fake wand the twins invented and a real one. 

Professor Moody came clunking in through the door and demanded quiet. Everyone froze and Ophelia eyed the strange man as he walked up to the front of the classroom and wrote his name in a messy scrawl with chalk. “You can call me Professor Moody or Moody. I am here because Professor Dumbledore asked me too. That’s all, end of question. As I understand, this is a N.E.W.T level of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Many of you will be turning 17 sometime throughout the school year so I will be treating you as adults. Is that understood?” He grunted and took a swig from a flask that was on his belt. 

“Now… since we are all adults. I think that we should first have observations of spells that the ministry thinks that you are too fragile and young to see. I disagree. A dark wizard won’t give you an opportunity to look up how to fight back in a spell book. You need to be able to think on your feet!” He glanced around the room and his eyes froze on Ophelia for a moment before moving on. She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. 

“We are going to cover the Unforgivables today. Can someone think of one?” Cedric raised his hand timidly. “What is your name, young man?”

“Cedric Diggory, sir.”

“Ahh, Diggory. Yes your father works at the ministry. Amos. Yes… yes… what curse can you think of, son.” Professor Moody went over to a jar and picked up a black, hairy spider and cast an Engorgio charm on it so it was big enough for the entire class to see. 

“Well… there was one. The Imperious Curse. He said that it gave the ministry a lot of trouble when You-Know-Who was defeated.” Cedric gulped before Professor Moody nodded.

“Yes. The Imperious Curse causes the victim to do unquestionable bidding the caster. For example, _Imperio!”_ He pointed his wand to the spider who was now dancing around the classroom on various desks.

Ophelia squealed when it landed on hers which caused the twins to begin laughing before Professor Moody aimed the Spider to dance on their heads. Adrian Pucey was the next victim of the spider since he was teasing the twins and Graham Montague tried to get the spider off of his friends face by smacking at it, however, Professor Moody moved the spider away causing Graham to smack Adrian right across the face. Everyone was laughing until Professor Moody got their attention again. “What should I do next? Drown her?” He put the spider under a jar of water and Ophelia gasped as she gripped for Grace’s hand. “See… You-Know-Who was accused of puting the Imperious curse on wizards and witches to do their bidding. That is why the ministry had such a hard time proving who was a death eater and who was simply, under a spell.” 

His wand led the spider back into his hand. “Another one?” Ophelia raised her hand as she had already memorized the Defense Against the Dark Arts book. “Sir, there is the Cruciatus Curse.”

“Excellent. What is your name?”

“Ophelia Lupin.”

“Lupin, aye.” He eyed her with his fake eye with suspension. “If you say so. Anyways, this curse inflicts excruciating pain on the recipient of the curse. Some famous aurors have been tortured to madness and have been long term residents at St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries due to their cases of insanity.” He cast his wand towards the spider and muttered _Crucio!_

The spider began to squirm and squeal under the spell and Ophelia thought she was going to be sick. She pictured Alice Longbottoms reaction to her in the long term patient room and she wanted to cry. She turned away and put her face into Fred’s shoulder to hide from the squirming spider. 

“Excellent!” Professor Moody boomed. “Another. The last one.”

Adrian Pucey raised his hand. “The Killing Curse, sir.”

“And you are?”

“Adrian Pucey, sir.”

“Hmm… yes. Pucey. I know that name.” Professor Moody squinted his eyes before turning to the enlarged spider and holding his wand tip to the spider before muttering _Avada Kedavra!_

A green light burst from the tip of his wand and the spider crumbled in his hand. “The Killing Curse causes instant death. There is only one known survivor of the curse and he walks these very halls with you. Mr. Harry Potter.”

Professor Moody cleared his throat and disposed of the dead spider. “Now, your homework for our next class is to write a paper on the three different unforgivable curses and how they affect the ministry. I would also like you to write down the etymology of these curses. There are books in the library that you may check out. You will need these.” He waved his wand and a stack of signature papers went flying into their hands to give them permission to check out a list of books as needed in the Restricted Section for their research.

When he dismissed the students, Ophelia had never been more thankful to leave a class. She was sprinting out of the room when the cruel taunts of Pucey and Montague followed her in the hall. “Did you see Lupin squirming from the Cruciatus curse.” Montague began with a laugh.

Ophelia turned on her heels to stare at them as they walked closer to her, her friends were behind them, trying to catch up with her since she sprinted out of the classroom. Adrian Pucey smirked. “I’d like to see her squirm.” He put his arms on either side of her head as he leaned closer to her. He was so close and she was trying to shrink into the stone wall behind her to get away from him. She could smell the mint on his breath. “I think it’d be easy to make you squirm. Has a guy ever done that to you, Lupin?”

She opened her mouth to tell him to shove off but Pucey was pushed away from her. Fred was looking furious and held his wand out to Pucey. “Stay the fuck away from her, Pucey.” 

To her surprise, when Graham Montague tried defending Adrian, Cedric stood in his way. “I think you should go.” He said calmly to the Slytherin boys who were rolling their eyes.

“I was just talking, Diggory. No need to get your wands in a twist.” Pucey sniggered as him and Montague walked away towards the dungeons. 

Ophelia clenched her teeth together and dug her nails into her palms until she felt the skin break. “O…” Grace stood next to her. She eased her fingers apart and held out her wand to clear the blood away that Ophelia just caused. “O… are you okay?”

Ophelia was still recovering from the shock and embarrassment. She didn’t trust that her voice wouldn’t shake so she just nodded her head before running off to the courtyard to escape the walls and get some fresh air in her lungs. She didn’t want this year to be filled with drama. She wanted to focus on her studies and leave all the boys behind. By the time she got to the courtyard, the tears were threatening to spill out as she kept smelling the mint in her nostril from Adrian Pucey’s breath. 

Grace caught up with her first. “You can’t keep running off! I’m not an athlete.” She heaved over her knees and took a deep breath. “Please I’m here for you, Ophelia. You don't’ need to run from your friends.”

“I was embarrassed. I’m sorry.”

Grace gave her a hug and the girls sat on the bunch, enjoying the chatter that filled the courtyard and the cool breezes that went past them. As if Slytherins knew how to suck the joy out of everything, Draco Malfoy was sauntering up towards a group of Gryffindors that she recognized were Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He was holding the Daily Prophet and taunting them.

Ophelia felt the need to go over and help Harry but when she stood up a loud BANG filled the air. Draco Malfoy was turned into a small, white, ferret. Professor Moody came limping over and lifted the white ferret over and over again. Everyone began to laugh as they realized that the bully, Draco Malfoy, had been transfigured into the ferret that was being tossed around by the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. 

The fun was soiled when Professor McGonagall came running out, looking incredibly stressed. “Alastor! We do not use Transfiguration against students!” With a wave of her wand, Draco was transfigured back into his human for. He looked around and ran off, away from the crazy Professor.

“See! Maybe Professor Moody just needs to catch Pucey being a git and you can kick the ferret down the corridor.” Grace burst into laughter and Ophelia joined her, thinking of how odd this school year was going to be. 


	46. Chapter Forty-Six: Imperio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved doing research on the other houses to write this chapter! I hope you all enjoy reading :)

**Chapter Forty-Six: Imperio**

Ophelia was in the middle of reading the Daily Prophet when Stella came swooping in with the rest of the owls at Hogwarts. She dropped two letters in front of her. Ophelia smiled lovingly at her new owl and gave her a treat before the black barn owl swooped out of the Great Hall to go back to the owlery. 

She opened the letter from her father first. In his scrawl it read:

_ Ophelia, _

_ I hope you are doing well. I hope your 6th year is as successful as your 5th! Knowing you, you’ll go above and beyond in all of your studies. I love you, O. I miss you more and more everyday.  _

_ I do not think it wise to enter your name in the tournament. There is just some writing on the wall that I don’t like and I think it would best if you stayed out of the dangerous tournament.  _

_ Please keep me updated on your year!  _

_ XOXO _

_ Your father, _

_ R.L. _

She smiled and tucked it into her assignment planner before opening the second letter which had the loopy handwriting of Sirius Black.

_ Ophelia, _

_ Moony told me about you possibly wanting to enter the Triwizard Tournament. It is imperative that you do not do that. Someone we know, their scar hurt and we are moving North immediately to be closer for if anything happens. _

_ There are many strange rumors going on that have reached us here that I don’t like. It reminds me of the first time. You’re old enough to handle this information even if Moony doesn’t agree.  _

_ I’ll be in touch soon. Give my best to your friends. Keep your eyes open, and your ears listening. They’re the best tools you can have. _

_ -Padfoot _

_ P.S. Moony told me about that Slytherin boy that you wrote about last time. I give you my full permission to give him a right hook the next time he gets close to you. You don’t need anyone to defend you. It’s in your blood that you’re a strong and powerful witch.  _

Ophelia for the first time chuckled at reading a letter from Sirius Black. She wondered if a letter like this she could show to Dumbledore if she got in trouble for punching Pucey. “What is it?” Fred asked peering over her shoulder.

“I just got permission to punch Adrian Pucey across the face if I wanted to. Although, I think the only person I could show this to is Dumbledore.” Ophelia laughed again and tucked the letter in with her dad’s letter.

Fred laughed. “Wicked. I’d love to see you give Pucey a black eye. He fucking deserves it the way he talks to you.”

The group walked to their classes. Ophelia was feeling incredibly overwhelmed with all of her coursework. She hated that she had Defense Against the Dark Arts last on Mondays and Wednesdays. She was always so drained when it came to dealing with Professor Moody. Today she wanted to throw up. 

“We are going to take turns to be under the Imperius Curse, to demonstrate its power and to see whether you can resist its effects.” Professor Moody grunted and waved his wand, sending the desks except for one flying to the edge of the room. “Now get in a single file line.”

“But Professor!” Ophelia protested. “You said it’s illegal!”

“Don’t talk to me about it. Talk to Dumbledore. He wants you taught what it feels like. If you’d rather learn the hard way-- when someone’s putting it on you so they can control you completely-- fine by me. You’re excused.”

“I’ll stay.” She said in a quiet voice which earned her an appraising nod from the Professor before she got in line in between Cedric and George. 

Professor Moody began to beckon the students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse on them. She watched as, one by one, her classmates did the most extraordinary things. Adrian Pucey performed gymnastics that he most certainly couldn’t do otherwise, Grace Thorne sang the national anthem of the United States, which she most certainly didn’t know, Fred Weasley imitated a hyena, and George Weasley just balanced on one foot while juggling. It was her turn next and she was sweating as she stood in front of Professor Moody. “ _ Imperio!” _

She felt like she was floating and every thought and worry in her head, glided away. All of a sudden she heard Professor Moody’s voice in her head.  _ Do a handstand… do a handstand… do a handstand… _

She raised her hands up in the air, ready to flip over and balance on them.  _ Do a handstand _ . She faltered as the logical part of her brain fought back. Why? Why are we wanting to do a handstand?  _ DO A HANDSTAND _ . She shook her head, I don’t even know how to balance for very long on my hands. I don’t want to embarrass myself. She tried to lower her hands but the voice was stronger.  _ DO A HANDSTAND… NOW! _

She shifted her weight so that she was balancing on her hands with her skirt tucked between her legs so it wouldn’t turn over. She came down and Professor Moody was giving a rare, half-smile. “Now, that’s more like it! Look at that, you lot… Lupin almost fought it off! We’ll try that again, Lupin. The rest of you, pay attention-- watch her eyes, that’s where you see it-- very good, Lupin, very good indeed! They’ll have trouble controlling you!”

When class was dismissed, Ophelia was feeling exhausted from trying to fight off the unforgivable curse. “I don’t like the way he talks like we are going to get attacked any second.” Grace shuddered at the thought. 

“He’s really paranoid.” George agreed.

The Slytherins were walking by and Ophelia held her breath to get ready for a condescending remark. The boys simply glanced at her and gave her approving nods. “Nice work, Lupin.” Terrance Higgs said in an honest voice. “My dad talks about the Imperius Curse all the time and he wasn’t able to fight it off when he was put under it before.”

“Oh-- er-- thanks.” She stammered as her cheeks turned slightly pink at the complement and unwanted attention. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, I just knew I didn’t want to do the handstand.” 

Terrance nodded. “Still cool.” 

Her friends were all in shock as well as the Slytherins kept walking away from them to go down to the Great Hall for dinner. “Were the Slytherins just… nice?” Cedric asked with a chuckle. “I swear Ophelia. You have a way with guys.”

She blushed and wished that she would have a way with him again. He didn’t even glance at her longer than he had to and was pretending that they had never shared kisses in empty classrooms last year. It was maddening to her. 

They continued to walk and found themselves in a large crowd of students who were all reading a large sign near the marble staircase. “Freddie, I can’t read it!” Ophelia tugged at his robe sleeve. “Read it, please.”

“Oh… it says that the most handsome Gryffindor is going to get snagged endlessly today.” He smirked down at her.

Ophelia rolled her eyes and turned to George. “Congratulations on the news George! I hope you have some chapstick.”

He bent over laughing as Fred went to swat at him. “Honestly, it says  _ Triwizard Tournament: The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o’clock on Friday. Lessons will end half an hour early. Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the welcoming feast _ .”

“Was that so hard?” Ophelia teased as butterflies fluttered in her chest at the thought of new students in the castle. 

“I wonder if the Durmstrang boys are cute.” Grace giggled as they continued to the Great Hall, around the crowd of students to get some food for dinner. 

The boys all groaned, begging her to not talk about the Durmstrang boys before they even arrived. They all knew that Grace was going to be in a field day with all of the new boys to admire. 

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one. For the rest of the week, the only thing that anyone wanted to talk about was the arrival of the new students. Rumors were flying from student to student about who was going to enter and what the tournament would involve. 

One morning, when they entered the Great Hall they were surprised with the gorgeous silk banners that were hanging from the walls. Each one, representing a Hogwarts House: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teacher’s table the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts crest with a large letter H. 

There was also silk banners that had stitching of the elements with french written across it. There was a purple banner with the word  _ Papillionlisse _ with a beautiful butterfly. There was a blue banner with the word  _ OmbreLune _ with a sinister looking moon on the front. There was a green banner with the word  _ Bellefeuille _ and had a beautiful stitching that mimicked leaves on the banner. These must’ve been the houses of Beauxbatons since there was also a large banner with the crest of their school with a large B.

The other banners must’ve been from Durmstrang. It was a fierce looking banner that had had a red skull with antlers coming out of it with the stitching of the name of the institute. There were other banners by it that read  _ Attitucs _ with an image of a Thestral on a green and black banner. Another banner had the name  _ Concinne _ on a crimson and white banner with a white tiger roaring on the front. Another had  _ Liberalis  _ on a purple and gray banner with a chimpanzee. The other house reminded Ophelia of Hufflepuff as it was on a banner the color of sunshine yellow with a periwinkle trim. It said  _ Terpsichora  _ on the front and had a magical platypus on it. 

“Strange, banners.” Grace muttered as the girls observed them.

“Well what do you think they’ll think of a fighting badger.” Ophelia rolled her eyes. “I’m sure ours will look just as strange to them. I’m going to the Owlery, I want to tell my dad about DADA.”

“I’m sure he’ll have a lot of opinions.” Grace smiled sadly. “I miss him. Will you tell him I hope he’s doing well?”

Ophelia nodded and collected her bag before skipping up to the Owlery. To her surprise, the twins followed her. “What are you two doing?”

“We need to send a letter to Ludo Bagman.” Fred snarled. “That git is still refusing to give us money.”

“What’re you up to?” George asked, seeing her letter in her hand that she was going to mail.

“I’m telling my dad and Sirius about Defense Against the Dark Arts. It’s absolutely barbaric that we are being forced to be put under Unforgivable Curses.” She frowned and shook her head as the group took the steps up to the Owlery, two at a time.

“You did just fine.” George noted. “I looked like a bloody idiot.” 

They all laughed as they reached the Owlery. Stella already had a letter from Sirius and her father from the last time she wrote to them. She opened it and scanned the contents in Black’s loopy handwriting. 

_ Harry tried to keep us from coming. Obviously we didn’t listen to him, please try to tell him that we don’t mind being bothered and it’s our job to worry. _

_ We are back in the country and well hidden. We want to keep posted on everything that’s going on at Hogwarts. We have asked Harry to do the same, but you are just more observant. (Don’t tell Harry we said that.)  _

_ Attached to Stella is money for the dress robes you mentioned. There are some family artifacts that you could wear if you’d like, I would just have to move some things around to get them to you. It’s up to you, of course. _

_ We hope you are doing well.  _

_ Please keep us updated. _

_ Tell your friends we say hello and to keep an eye out for you and Harry. We worry. _

_ -PF and Moony _

She felt her eyes pop out of her head as she saw how many galleons he had given her for a pair of dress robes, the only thing she hadn’t ordered yet on her school supply list. She knew that tonight she would sit down with Grace and have her help looking through the luxurious catalog of dress robes and accessories. 

“Blimey! Your robes better be plated in gold if you plan on spending all of that!” Fred’s eyes were also popping out of his head as he looked at how much Sirius had given her to spend.

“It’s a girl thing, you wouldn’t understand.” She thought how pitiful their dress robes looked and smirked at them. “What’re your sizes?”

“No… you aren’t getting us dress robes.” George knew exactly what she was leading on.

“Oh come on, the ones you have are ghastly! Besides, like you said, Fred. I’m not going to spend all of this on one set of dress robes. I should buy you two some cheap ones that are covered in lace and smell like your great uncles.” She raised an eyebrow. “It would be hard to be charming in some outdated robes…”

Fred scowled and wrote down their measurements on a piece of scrap parchment. “We are going to pay you back once our shop is up and running.”

She waved a hand as they skipped back down the stairs. “Don’t worry about it.” 

When she made it to the Hufflepuff girl dormitories, Grace and her were hunched over the glossy, moving advertisements of the beautiful wizarding robes. Her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw some of the prices. She saw a beautiful dress that caught her eye. It was a floor length gown that was nude but covered in jewels. When the model twirled in the advertisement, it looked like she was covered from her bodice to her toes in the holographic jewels that shined. Ophelia let out a sigh. “This is the one.”

Grace smiled. “You should wear an opal necklace with it. It’s your birthstone and it looks like that’s the type of gems that the gown was made to mimic. Oh, Ophelia this is beautiful! Look, it has a cute slit on the leg and the way it has a built in corset to tie up the back. You’re going to be stunning!” 

Ophelia filled out the order form with her measurements and flipped to the mens section. She found two dress robes that were made to look like a cross between a muggle suit and a robe. They were stunning and made the model look rugged and handsome. She pictured the twins in these and determined that these were the ones. The bowtie that went with them claimed it could be transfigured to whatever color needed so she also knew they could decide that aspect of it. She wrote down the information for those as well which caused Grace to raise a slender eyebrow. “Hm… two men’s robes?”

“The twins don’t have a lot of money and my dad just gave me some to buy for us.” Ophelia shook off the slight lie and sealed the envelope before running off the Owlery again to send it off with Stella. She was almost floating with the excitement of trying on her new gown and it was perfectly fitting since the rest of the castle was giddy with the anticipation of the visitors arriving tomorrow to shake up the castle and add some life to their day to day lives. 


	47. Chapter Forty-Seven: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

**Chapter Forty-Seven: Beauxbatons and Durmstrang**

On Friday, not a single soul was paying attention to their classes. It seemed the Professors were even excited for the arrival of the other schools. When it was almost 6 o’clock, Grace and Ophelia quickly put their books in their dorm before touching up their hair and makeup to impress the Durmstrang boys. 

When they came back downstairs into the entrance hall, all of the Heads of Houses were ordering their students into lines. Professor Sprout was organizing the groups by heights which meant that Grace and Ophelia were near the front somewhat with the younger students but also some other older Hufflepuff girls who were shorter. 

It seemed like everyone was shivering with anticipation or the chill October air as they waited for the guests. Suddenly Professor Dumbledore boomed. “The delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!”

Something large was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time. Once the figure grew closer, they saw a gigantic, powder-blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward them, pulled through the air by a dozen or so winged horses, all the size of an elephant. 

Once it landed, the tallest woman that Ophelia had ever seen, stepped out of the carriage. She revealed an olive-skinned face with large black eyes as she scanned looking for Professor Dumbledore. When she caught sight of him she smiled. “Dumbly-dorr!”

“My dear Madame Maxime. Welcome to Hogwarts!” He smiled.

“My pupils!” She extended her hand and waved them carelessly behind her as a dozen boys and girls had emerged from the carriage. They were shivering since the robes they had on seemed to be made of thin silk. “Has Karkaroff arrived, yet?”

“He should be here any moment--” He was cut off by an immense vacuum cleaner nose from the lake. 

Lee Jordan pointed to it and called out to the other students. “Look at the lake!”

The smooth black surface of the lake was suddenly distrubed. There were great bubbles forming on the surface and waves were washing over the muddy banks. A long black pole emerged and then suddenly, an entire ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. People began to disembark and walk towards the others at the castle entranceway. “Dumbeldore!” the man who was leading the group called out as he lifted his arms, shifting the shaggy, matted fur on the cloak he was wearing. “How are you?”

“Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff.” Dumbledore replied with a smile. “Let’s all go inside, so the Beauxbatons can warm up.”

Everyone filed into the castle and Ophelia, along with many others, caught a glimpse of the one and only, Viktor Krum. The whispers filled the corridor as they filed into the Great Hall for the welcoming feast. The Beauxbatons students sat at the Ravenclaw table, many still shivering. The Durmstrang boys sat at the Slytherin table.

With the additional guest, the Great Hall was even louder and seemed more crowded. Up at the staff table, Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch was now sitting next to Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff. “What’re they doing here?” Ophelia wondered out loud to her friends who merely shrugged. 

Everyone was starving and they began to eat, forgetting about the additional staff members as food appeared on the golden plates in front of them. She tucked into some pasta and salad and until she was so full she felt like could roll the Hufflepuff Common room. 

Professor Dumbledore stood up and smiled at the Great Hall. Everyone seemed to feel a thrill of excitement. “The moment has come. The Triwizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first, let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports.” Ophelia did not clap and instead narrowed her eyes at the conniving man who stole Fred, George, and her own money at the Quidditch World Cup back in the Summer. 

“Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch have worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the Triwizard Tournament and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions’ efforts. As you know, three champions compete in the tournament one from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the tournament tasks and the champion with the highest total after task three will win the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: The Goblet of Fire.” He took his wand out and tapped the casket three times, the lid creaked slowly open to reveal a large, cup with dancing blue and white flames. “Anybody wishing to submit themselves as champion must write their name and school clearly upon a slip of parchment and drop it into the goblet. Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours in which to put their names forward. Tomorrow night, Halloween, the goblet will return the names of the three it has judged most worthy to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the entrance hall tonight, where it will be freely accessible to all those wishing to compete. To ensure that no underage student yields to temptation, I will be drawing an Age Line around the Goblet of Fire once it has been placed in the entrance hall. Nobody under the age of seventeen will be able to cross this line.”

Ophelia let a small gasp out, she had the Aging Potion for the twins in her trunk at the foot of her bed. She just hoped that it would work for them. 

Dumbledore continued. “Finally, I wish to impress upon any of you wishing to compete that this tournament is not to be entered into lightly. Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion. Please be sure. Now, I think it is time for bed. Good night, all of you!”

“An Age Line!” Fred cried out and scampered over to Ophelia with George with him. “Well that should be fooled by an Aging Potion, shouldn’t it? And once your name’s in that goblet… it has to work!”

George’s eyes lit up. “Do you have the potion?”

“It’s in my room. I’ll have to go and get it.” She shifted her weight. “Are you two positive you want to enter? It seems really, really dangerous.”

“Ah, little Hufflepuff. That’s why we are in Gryffindor! We aren’t scared of death. We laugh at it.” Fred smirked.

“Fine. I’ll get it to you first thing tomorrow morning.”

They nodded and they separated into their respective dormitories. It seemed like they weren’t the only ones with the idea to get up early in the morning. Everyone was in the entrance hall, sitting down on the benches and watching as the various old students put their names into the Goblet of Fire. 

Ophelia sat down next to Grace had chewed on her thumb nail as she had given the twins the potion out in the corridor, not wanting to be seen with it. They came running in, cheering. “Done it!”

George jumped up on a bench and held out the bottle that contained his portion of the aging-potion. “Ready Fred?”

“Ready George!”

“Bottoms up!” They cheered together as they downed the Aging Potion.

Fred pulled a slip of parchment out of his pocket and Ophelia felt like she couldn’t breathe. He turned and winked at her as he walked right up to the edge of the line and stood there, rocking on his toes, like a diver preparing for a drop. When everyone was looking at him, he stepped over the line. 

Everyone began to cheer, thinking that the potion worked. George jumped in with excitement now too as they threw their names into the Goblet. However, there was a loud sizzling sound, and both twins were hurled out of the golden circle as though they had been thrown. They landed painfully on the stone floor and had sprouted identical long white bears.

Ophelia blushed and hid her giggle with her hands as they began to wrestle each other, arguing over who came up with the idea of the Aging Potion in the first place. As everyone began to chant,  _ fight, fight, fight _ , Ophelia took this opportunity to engage in plan B when no one was looking. She held a slip of paper with the name  _ Fred Weasley _ and the School  _ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry _ written down in gold ink. She walked through the age line and tossed his name into the Goblet. She winced, waiting for some backlash. She let out a small sigh of relief and danced out of the golden age-line. 

She walked up to the twins and hoisted them up. “Let’s get you two to the hospital wing.” She giggled and when they were away from the entrance hall she looked at them. “I put one of your names in.”

“You did what?” Fred exclaimed, he looked rather funny with the large white beard. “I could kiss you!”

“Please don’t with the beard.” She let out a laugh that made her throw her head back.

George wiggled his now white eyebrows. “Aye, Freddie. Doesn’t sound like she wouldn’t mind kissing you when you’re back to normal.”

She yanked his beard which made him yelp. “Knock it off.”

“Whose name did you toss in?” Lee asked.

“I won’t tell. We will all find out if one of them are chosen to be champion.” She smirked as they walked into the Hospital Wing. 

Madam Pomfrey shook her head and began to chastise them for their foolish idea. She was going to kick Lee and Ophelia out when Ophelia begged to see how she would reverse this problem, claiming it was for her Healer observation hours that she was racking up. The Healer sighed and allowed her to watch over the process of reversing the aging potion. “Rest. We will make sure that it has worked, you both can leave in an hour.” She turned on her heels and went to go help a Slytherin boy who must’ve had a similar idea of submitting his name.

George closed his eyes. “Well, I’m going to take a nap if we are stuck here for an hour.” Almost immediately, he was snoring softly with his mouth gaping open.

“That’s impressive.” Ophelia giggled as she pulled up a chair and sat next to Fred in the hospital bed. “I’m sorry the Potion didn’t work.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t put your own name in. I’m happy, don’t get me wrong, but you would make an excellent Hogwarts Champion.” Fred shook his head. “I’m amazed sometimes at you.”

“What for?” She laughed softly.

“You’re so… unselfish and kind.”

“Wow… sounds like a Hufflepuff.” Ophelia joked and rolled her eyes.

“I mean it!” Fred insisted. “Out of curiosity, whose name did you put in? Mine or George’s? I can’t stand not knowing.”

She blushed. “I put in yours, you ass. Are you happy?”

His freckled face split into a large smile. “You’re joking… you didn’t actually… this is…” He shook his head and stared at the ceiling, speechless. “Thank you, O.”

Ophelia smiled. “Anything for you, Fred.”

He turned to her and slightly parted his lips, like he was about to say something when Madame Pomfrey came over, telling Ophelia to leave. She stood up and grabbed her bag that was resting against the hospital chair on the floor. She turned back to Fred who was staring at her with a small smile on his face. “For what it’s worth, I hope you get picked. I think you’re worthy of being the champion. That’s why I put your name in, Fred.”


	48. Chapter Forty-Eight: The Champions

**Chapter Forty-Eight: The Champions**

Grace and Ophelia were walking to the Great Hall, talking animatedly about who they thought were going to be the Champions that were picked from the Goblet of Fire. She couldn’t say, but she thought that Fred had a good chance of getting his name called. A group of Slytherins came sauntering past them and Montague turned to the girls and smiled condescendingly. “Make way for your Hogwarts champion! Warrington put his name and he’s brilliant. We are sure he’s name will get called.”

“We’ll see what the Goblet of Fire thinks about that.” Ophelia narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know if a Slytherin is worthy of being the Hogwarts champion.”

Pucey wrapped an arm around her shoulder, as if they were good friends. “Did you put your name in, Lupin? I’d help you after the challenges, give you massages if you were sore.” He winked and she wriggled free from under his grip.

“Ugh, you wish.” She sneered and crossed her arms over her chest. “The thought of your hands on me is disgusting.”

“So you think of my hands on you? We could make that happen, you know.” He winked as the Slytherin boys hollered with laughter and walked into the candlelit Great Hall. 

“I’m going to kill him.” She muttered and shook her head. 

“I’ll help you hide the body.” Grace smiled. “Come on, let’s go sit down and forget about it.” 

The two Hufflepuff girls sat down at the Hufflepuff table and waited anxiously to know who was going to get picked. “Goodluck, Cedric.” Grace smiled at their nervous looking friend. “I’m sure you’ll do great if you are picked.”

“I’ll help you with any research if you’re picked, Ced.” Ophelia added with a polite smile on her face that he returned. 

Professor Dumbledore walked up to the flaming Goblet and smiled to the students and staff in the Great Hall. “When the champions’ names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber where they will be receiving their first instructions.”

The flames inside the goblet suddenly turned red and sparks began to fly from it. A tongue of fire shot into the air and sent a charred piece of paper into the hands of Dumbledore. “The champion for Durmstrang…. Viktor Krum!”

A storm of applause and cheering swept through the hall as Krum stood up from the Slytherin table and walked along the staff table to the chamber. Once the clapping quieted down, the goblet once again spit out a charred piece of paper. “The champion for Beauxbatons, is Fleur Delacour!”

A beautiful girl with silvery blonde hair stood up gracefully and danced up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff table to the staff table. She shook the hands of all of the staff members before walking into the chamber. Everyone was now anticipating who the Hogwarts champion could be. The Goblet shot out another flame and Dumbledore caught it with a smile. “Our Hogwarts champion… is Cedric Diggory!”

Everyone at the Hufflepuff table seemed to jump up and scream with delight as Cedric grinned broadly. Ophelia and Grace tackled him with a hug, they were so excited. “I have to go!” He laughed as they let go of him and he practically ran up to shake Dumbledore’s hand before going to the chamber next to the staff table. 

It took awhile for the Hufflepuff’s to calm down since they weren’t expecting to have the Hogwarts Champion as a member of their house. “Excellent! Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster--” He was cut off by the goblet sending out another shot of fire. Dumbledore reached out and grabbed the fourth parchment.

There was silence as he stared at the parchment with disbelief. He whispered the name and everyone leaned in, unable to hear him. Dumbledore cleared his throat and said the name, louder this time. 

_“Harry Potter”_

Ophelia’s heart sank. She swirled her head over to the Gryffindor table where she saw Harry sitting there looking awkward and stunned. No one clapped or said a word. He turned his head to Ron and Hermione and was talking to them with a blank face. 

Dumbledore cleared his throat again. “Harry Potter! Harry! Up here, if you please!”

Hermione basically shoved him off the Gryffindor table. Harry slowly walked up to the door and there were taunts from the Slytherins calling him a cheat. Ophelia frowned and stood up to clap her hands a couple times which Harry turned his head and smiled at her desperately as if he needed that little bit of support to finish the walk to the chamber. 

“Sit down!” Grace grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back down. “I don’t know why you’re cheering on Potter. He’s not 17 and there is already a Hogwarts champion, it’s Cedric.”

Ophelia bit down her lip, she wasn’t able to tell any of her friends, except for the Weasleys’ about Sirius Black so she couldn’t just say that Harry was family now. She just shrugged. “It’s the right thing to do. Didn’t you see how terrified he looked. I bet he didn’t even put his name in, I bet someone else did.”

“You can’t put someone else's name in.” Grace argued.

“Yes you can. I did it. Not for Harry, but I did it for Fred.” Ophelia clenched her jaw tightly. “Someone probably did it as a prank.”

As Dumbledore disappeared with the other Ministry officials and headmasters of the other schools, the Heads of the Houses got all of their students to go into their common room. Hufflepuff moved quickly, wanting to surprise Cedric when he came back. 

They set off to decorate the common room and scavenged up balloons or signs that said “Go Diggory!”. All of the Hufflepuffs were hanging up the decorations and some went to the kitchens to grab canteens of pumpkin juice, platters of cookies and other snacks to have in the common room when Cedric arrived.

After about an hour, the entrance way opened and Cedric walked in and was thrown off by the roar of applause and cheers that were in response to him walking in. “We knew it would be you!” Grace roared as she tackled her friend into a hug.

Jacob ruffled Cedric’s hair as Ernie pumped him on the back with his hand. They were all going on and about how great Cedric was. Ophelia pushed her way through and gave him a small smile. “You’re going to do great, Ced.”

He beamed down at her and wrapped her into a tight hug. “I’ll need your help.” He whispered into her ear. “When I find out what the task is, will you help me prepare? You’re the brightest witch I know. I need you.”

She backed up and held both of his hands. “I’m always here for you. Of course.”

Ernie grabbed one of the Hufflepuff banners and draped it around Cedric and screamed, “To the true Hogwarts Champion! Cedric!”

All of the Hufflepuffs chanted it back and started screaming, “Diggory! Diggory!” He was blushing madly as random students came up and congratulated him and a first year even asked him to sign his autograph. 

Ophelia handed a 5th year her camera and asked if she could snap a picture. The girl with curly blonde hair smiled and nodded. Ophelia, Grace, Jacob, and Ernie all stood around Cedric and were holding signs and waving Hufflepuff gear in the air while the picture was snapping. Cedric was beaming at his friends and laughing at their wild antics. When the light went off, signaling that the loop was finished, the 5th year girl handed her back the camera with a smile. “I’ll get this developed and you can begin autographing it for me, Ced.” Ophelia winked.

The Hufflepuff’s partied until Professor Sprout came in looking rather annoyed. “I’m very happy we have the champion in our house but you all need to get to bed! It’s 3 in the morning! This is out of hand. Now go to bed.”

The next morning, Ophelia’s heart sank for Harry. All of the Hufflepuffs had turned remarkably cold toward the Gryffindors. Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley, sneered at him in the hallway and called him a cheater. His face dropped at the remarks and Ophelia ran up to catch up with him in the hallway. “Hey, Harry! I forgot to tell you congratulations.”

Ernie and Justin gave her a look of shock and disgust. “Er-- thanks, Ophelia.” He smiled gratefully. “You were the only one who clapped for me. It meant a lot.”

She wrapped him in a tight hug and whispered into his ear. “You need to tell Sirius about this. If you didn’t actually put your name in the Goblet, someone did and it’s not good.”

He whispered back. “You can’t put someone else's name in--”

“Yes you can! I put Fred Weasley’s name in because he wanted to be entered in. I didn’t get any beard on my face or anything like that. It is entirely possible. Tell Sirius and my dad. They’ll know what to do.” She smiled at him as she broke off the hug.

Harry gave her a half-smile. “You know he is your dad, too.”

She held up a hand. “Don’t start. I’m working on it.”

The next couple days were horrible for Harry Potter. Ophelia frowned when she saw Slytherins handing out badges that said in bright red letters: _support Cedric Diggory-- the REAL Hogwarts Champion!_ Adrian Pucey handed Ophelia, Grace, Ernie, and Jacob some of the pins while Cedric was interviewing with Rita Skeeter. “Hope you all consider wearing these.”

“Wow. We didn’t realize you liked Cedric.” Ernie said and pinned his to the front of his robes.

“Press it.” Terrance Higgs egged on with a snigger. 

When Ernie pressed the badge into his chest, the message upon it vanished, to be replaced with another one in glowing green that said: _POTTER STINKS._ The boys and Grace boomed into laughter as Ophelia grit her teeth. “I don’t think I’ll need this.” She handed the pin back to Adrian who grabbed her hand when she tried placing into his.

“Got a soft spot for Gryffindors, do we?” He taunted. “Here, I thought it was just the Weasel twins. Apparently, it’s for Potter too. Well, if you want to ever want to ditch the losers, you know where to find the Slytherin dorms.” He winked and let go of her hand, passing the badge that she handed back to him to a Ravenclaw that walked by. 

Ophelia scoffed and walked off, stomping to the Owlery to vent to Sirius and her father. When she went up there, she saw that they had written to her.

_Ophelia--_

_We can’t say everything in this letter, it’s too risky. We are going to talk to H.P. We know that he can look after himself but this is dangerous. I don’t think anyone will be able to hurt him. However, someone seems to be trying to by entering him into that tournament. Keep you eyes wide open. Due diligence. Always._

_We are bestowing this duty onto you. We know that you are just a child yourself but you’re 17 now. You know more spells than he does. Please, keep an eye out for him. He doesn’t have many people in his corner right now._

_Congratulate Cedric, he is a bright person._

_Watch out, O. There are people inside the castle walls that might not be there for the right reasons. Stay sharp._

_-PF and Moony_

She let out a small gasp as she finished reading it. She took out a parchment paper and a quill and began to write back furiously fast.

_I will watch out for him. Poor thing, he looked shaken when his name was called. I was the only one to clap for him out of everyone in the Great Hall. Now the Slytherins are handing out pins that say POTTER STINKS on them. I’m sure he won’t tell you about it._

_I think it’s possible that someone could’ve put a name in that wasn’t their own. I may have done that for Fred Weasley… I didn’t want to put my own name and he was desperate to be entered by he’s still 16, not turning 17 until April. I don’t know if there’s a way to research this but I figured you would like to know._

_I will help H.P as much as I can with the tasks. I’m sure H.G will help him as well._

_I hope you are all well._

_Love you._

_-O_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so excited to begin writing about the Tournament! I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Thank you all for your comments and kudos I’m blown away that people are reading this story and what it’s turned into in such a short amount of time!


	49. Chapter Forty-Nine: Hogsmeade

**Chapter Forty-Nine: Hogsmeade**

Cedric was like a celebrity now as he walked through the halls of the castle. Ernie and Jacob followed him wherever he went and Grace and Ophelia simply rolled their eyes at how quickly the boys got swifted off into the pomp and circumstance of it all. 

The Rita Skeeter article was horrible. It hardly mentioned Cedric and rambled on about Harry. It got Harry even more hate. It seemed as Ophelia was walking through Hogsmeade with the twins, that almost every Hogwarts student, besides the Gryffindors, had on the Support Diggory badges pinned to their cloaks. It boiled Ophelia’s blood. “Come on, O. Let’s go into the joke shop. You aren’t going to change anything by giving death stares to a group of third year Slytherins.” Fred pulled her into the bright and cheerful Zonko’s as they looked around the shelves of joke products. 

She filled a small bag of Sugar Quills and a few Fillibuster Fireworks for the twins who could only look since they had bet away all of their money at the Quidditch Cup. When she checked out, she slipped the Fireworks into their pockets and ignored their protests. “I can never light them properly. You boys are much better at it.”

They went into Honeydukes and she picked up a few big chocolate bars to send to her dad and bought a handful of other products to keep for when she was studying hard in the common room. After that, they walked into the Three Broomsticks. Fred and Ophelia walked up to the bar to order a round for the group as George, Lee, and Angelina snagged a corner booth in the packed pub. 

The two waited for Madam Rosmerta patiently as she was scrambling around to get all the patrons their drinks. “I’m sorry your name didn’t get called.” She said honestly to Fred. “I think you would’ve made a great champion.”

“Mum would’ve been furious. Probably a good thing I wasn’t picked.” He shrugged and shoved his hands into the front of his jeans pocket. “Who didn’t want you to enter?”

“I bet Remus.” She smiled thinking of her calm dad. “He was never one for big shows. I think he would’ve had a heart attack if I was chosen. I’m not sure I would be ready for it. I’d rather just help behind the scenes.”

“Oh come on, you’re great in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. I bet you would’ve been the perfect champion.” 

She blushed as Madam Rosmerta came over to them with a stressed smile on her face. “5 Butterbeers please! Another pitcher as well to bring over to our table!” Ophelia called over the noise. 

When she returned, she had a platter of all of the drinks. Fred easily scooped it up as Ophelia paid and they walked over to the corner booth. Ophelia slid in to sit next to Angelina as Fred passed out the foaming pewter tankards of the Butterbeer. “You better take it easy, O.” George chuckled. “You should’ve seen her at the Quidditch World Cup. I think she had about 10 cups of Green Butterbeer. She was so buzzed.”

“I was not!” She complained and took a long drag of the foamy liquid. “I was just enjoying myself. That's all.”

The others laughed and Lee smirked. “I don’t know, Ophelia. You’re not that big. What are you 5 feet tall? I don’t think it would take much for you to get buzzed off of something as light as Butterbeer.” 

Angelina wrapped her arm around the Hufflepuff girl's shoulders. “Stop picking on the poor girl. You lot are such bullies sometimes.”

“Thanks, Angie. This is why you’re my favorite Gryffindor.” Ophelia winked at the boys who were complaining and trying to explain why they should be her favorite Gryffindor instead of the fierce Gryffindor Chaser that was sitting next to her. 

Ron came over to their table looking a little embarrassed with his own pewter of foaming Butterbeer in his freckled hand. “Would you lot mind if I joined you?”

“Of course not! There’s always room for Ickle-Ronnikins!” Fred cheered and scooted closer to Ophelia to make room for his brother. 

“Where’s Harry?” Ophelia asked which earned her a dark look from the fourth year.

“Dunno. I haven’t been talking to him.” Ron frowned into his drink as George, Angelina, and Lee began talking about something that she tuned out due to the annoyance of the drama within Harry's friends.

Fred leaned back so Ophelia could look at Ron from his other side. “Why aren’t you guys talking?”

Ron sighed. “It’s complicated, Ophelia. Don’t get involved.”

“No need to be rude.” She sniffed and took a drag of Butterbeer. “Anyways, what was the news you guys were excited to share?”

Fred lit up. “Charlie told us he’s going to be here for the first task. You know what that means…” He took a long drag of his Butterbeer before continuing on. “Dragons!”

“Dragons.” Ophelia’s heart sank. “The Champions are going to have to face… face… Dragons?!”

“Shh!” Ron shushed her. “You don’t want to spoil the surprise! What if someone overhears us?”

“Does Harry know?” She demanded as she reached past Fred and grabbed Ron's wrist. She was determined to find out if he was being a decent friend and gave him a warning about this incredibly dangerous first task.

Ron nodded his head. “Well… I told Seamus to tell Dean to tell Pavarti to tell Hermione to tell Harry that Hagrid was looking for him.”

“You’re such an idiot. Why wouldn’t you just tell him yourself?” Ophelia raised a dark eyebrow as the youngest Weasley boy began to blush.

“Just drop it, Ophelia.” He huffed and slammed the rest of his Butterbeer before he got up to go grab another from the bar.

“He’s pleasant today.” Fred sang as he downed the rest of his Butterbeer as well and refilled his with the extra pitcher in the middle of the table. When Ophelia drained the rest of hers, Fred refilled hers. “You better pace yourself. I don’t want to have to carry you back to the castle.”

“Oh, shove off.” She rolled her eyes and took long drags of her Butterbeer as she saw Cho Chang walk up to Cedric and talk to him at a booth from across the pub. Ophelia felt like she was going to be sick, especially when Cedric made room for the Ravenclaw girl to join their table with a huge smile planted on his face. Thankfully, Grace didn’t look amused by the newest addition at their table and rolled her eyes when she caught Ophelia’s stare. 

Ophelia turned back to the table and cleared her throat. “I think I need something stronger.” She nodded to herself and scanned the bar for an adult that she wouldn’t know. When she spotted an old man sitting at a table by himself she excused herself and waltzed over there. “Hello! My friends and I were hoping to try some Ogden’s Whiskey… you wouldn’t by chance be able to buy us some. We’re all 17 but Hogwarts students. Rather unfair if you ask me that we can’t order it.” She batted her thick, black eyelashes for good measure to try and woo the old wizard. 

The old man smiled at her flirting with a toothless smile. She handed him a galleon and told him to keep the change as long as they got the alcohol. He sauntered up to the bar and Ophelia sat down next to Hermione who was sitting by herself. “Ophelia, don’t!” Hermione went to call but Ophelia jumped up as she sat on someone’s lap instead of an empty chair. “Harry’s sitting there.”

“Oh my god, you scared me!” Ophelia shook her head thinking of Charlie Weasley visiting the castle soon. “Harry, did you get the message to go to Hagrid’s Hut tonight?”

Harry’s voice came from the chair, under the invisibility cloak. “Yea. It was rather confusing. Thanks for making sure I knew.”

“Anytime.” She smiled as the old man came back with a half empty bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey. “Cheers, sir!”

She skipped back to the table and plunked it down. “Who wants Whiskey?”

“Ophelia…” Fred shook his head. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

Angelina smiled. “I’ll take a drink with you!”

George, who had a crush on Angelina, perked up and said he’d do one too. The three of them took long drags form the bottle and she felt the fire burn down her throat as she coughed. Almost immediately, she felt a little dizzy as if she had just drank 6 Butterbeers. “This is great!” George cheered and passed the bottle to Fred who was eyeing Ophelia wearily. “Go on, try it, Freddie!”

He sighed and took a long drag from the Ogden’s Firewhiskey bottle. The amber liquid went down his throat and Ophelia couldn’t help but stare as he chugged it. She was memorized and feeling rather silly from the liquor. When he set the bottle down he winced and handed it back to Ophelia who gladly drank from it again. 

After about an hour, Angelina and Ophelia were thoroughly drunk while the others were only buzzed. Ron, who had only had a sip before Fred yanked the bottle from his hand, was laughing hysterically at the girls who were singing along to the music in the bar while raising their Butterbeers in the air, not realizing that some of the liquid was sloshing out of the top and covering the top of the table they were all at. 

Ophelia frowned when hers was plucked from her hand. “Hey!” She complained as Fred placed a Gillywatter into her hand instead. “You’re no fun!”

“I would hate for your dad or my mum to find out that I was here to watch you get absolutely smashed and not offer you any water.” He smiled softly and shook his head. “I don’t want you to be too drunk.”

She began to laugh hysterically. “Toooooo late.” She sang but did take a few sips of Gillywater. “I just love Ogden’s. It makes me feel soooo…”

“Free?” Angelina offered as she slammed the rest of her pewter of Butterbeer. 

“Yes! I feel like I could do anything right now!” Ophelia smiled at the Gryffindor girl. “We could totally play Quidditch right now!”

“No!” Lee and George said at the same time.

Fred agreed. “We’re staying at the pub until you two sober up a bit.”

“No fun!” Angelina and Ophelia complained at the same time before they began to giggle wildly. 

A group of Slytherins walked by with the stupid POTTER STINKS badges and Ophelia couldn’t bite her tongue with the liquid coursing through her. “Hey! You know those are st-stupid!” She managed to slur out as the Slytherin girls turned to her with a look of disgust on their face. “Potter is an excellent Champion!”

The people at her table began to laugh as the girls walked away, muttering about drunks. Another group of Slytherins walked over and eyed their table. Ophelia recognized Pucey and Montague and sighed. “What the h-h-hell do you two want?”

“Obviously we want to be on the same level as you, Lupin. How much have you had to drink today?” Pucey laughed with one of his eyebrows raised. “You had to have had a dozen Butterbeers to get like that.”

“Try Ogden’s, asshole.” She muttered and crossed her arms over her chest wishing that she could go back to being all giggly and joking with Angelina.

“Ogdens? Man, you need to come to a Slytherin party sometime. If you can handle that, you would fit right in.” Pucey winked. “I’d take good care of you, Ophelia.”

She shivered and it wasn’t from the chill. She didn’t like the advances that Pucey kept making at her this year. He was being more forward with her and it made her nervous. She didn’t like that he was able to make her blush and shiver.

Fred was turning red from beside her and would’ve jumped up if Ron wasn’t holding his trembling shoulder down from the edge of the bar booth. “Get the fuck away from us, Pucey. Unless you want a repeat of what happened a couple years ago when I knocked you out cold.”

Adrian sneered at him. “I’m not afraid of you, Weasel. The fact that I’m able to talk to Lupin like this weekly and you haven’t done any damage just proves that you are all bark and no bite. Besides… I think the only reason you care is because you’re worried she likes the attention she gets from me.” 

Fred whipped out his wand and casted the Langlock Jinx while Ron must’ve cast the Knockback Jinx because Pucey was unable to speak anymore while he flew backwards. George and Lee were also casting Jinxes at the other Slytherin boys who were now trying to help him and get revenge. The entire bar was now looking at all of the commotion as jinxes were going flying and their was shouting from the nearby tables who were shocked that the Slytherins were flying backwards into their tables, spilling the other patrons drinks in the process. 

Madam Rosmertta was fuming when she ran over to their table. “Not you all again! I’m done with this. Out!” She kicked them all out while the Slytherins were helping the ones who were knocked out or fallen.

Ophelia felt the heat rush up her neck to her cheeks as the entire eyes of the pub were on them as she swayed, trying to walk out of the pub. Angelina and her tried to steady themselves onto each other but seeing that they were both drunk they fell when they were outside. The two girls were laughing hysterically as they rolled on the ground blaming the other for falling. “You two are impossible.” Fred yanked up Ophelia while George lifted Angelina up and let her lean against him as they walked towards the castle. “I swear, if your dad finds out I let you get this drunk, I’ll never be able to be around him again.” Fred shook his head with a chuckle.

“You know… I can defend myself, Freddie.” She slurred as she looked up at him. “I don’t need you getting in trouble because of me.”

“Don’t worry about me. I know you can defend yourself. Sometimes, my anger just gets the best of me is all.” Fred smiled down at her before his face grew serious. “Ophelia, please don’t go to a Slytherin party. I-I think he was being serious about trying to take advantage of you at one of those. I just don't want him to get a chance.”

“I won’t, Freddie. I’m not stupid.” She hiccuped and groaned. “Oh no... I hate the hiccups!”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple candy with a clear wrapper that had written on it, anti-hiccup charm sweet: batch 09. “It’s safe, I promise.”

She popped the candy into her mouth and was amazed at the flavor of blue raspberry sugar quills, her favorite treat. After the candy dissolved on her tongue, the hiccups were gone as fast as they came. “I would like to invest in this one, Mr. Weasley.” She winked to him as she waved the empty wrapped in front of his eyes.

“Oh god, don’t call me that.” He laughed as they walked into the grand entrance way of the castle. “You already invested too much money on that bet that went down hill. I’m not going to let you throw away any more money.”

“I don’t think it’s th-throwing away money. I know you and George are going to open up a sh-shop. It’s an investment.” She argued but her slurring and tripping over her own feet didn’t make it sound very convincing. 

“Come on, you need to lay down.” Fred shook his head and turned to the others. “I’ll be right up, I’m going to make sure she makes it to the Hufflepuff common room.”

The two separated from the group and they began to walk down the long, stone, corridors. Their footsteps filled the quiet hallway since most of the students were at Hogsmeade still. She breathed in and smiled up at the tall teenager. “You know you smell like v-v-vanilla and fireworks. It's nice.” She giggled.

“You are so drunk!” He laughed and it echoed down the empty corridor.

“I am not!” She stomped her foot stubbornly which almost made her fall backwards but Fred caught her arm, easily.

“You so are!” He rolled his warm eyes. “Let’s get you safely to the common room. Wouldn't want you losing any house points over some Firewhiskey.”

When they made it to the warm kitchens, she wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head against his chest. “Thanks, Fred for taking care of me.”

“It’s fine, O. Anytime.” He ruffled the top of her hair. “Now hurry in there before Professor Sprout catches me dumping a very drunk Hufflepuff off.”

She rolled her eyes and knocked the tune of Helga Hufflepuff onto the barrel before turning around to see Fred stare at her. “Goodbye, Freddie.” She smiled.

“Goodbye, Ophelia.”


	50. Chapter Fifty: The First Task

**Chapter Fifty: The First Task**

The morning of the First Task, the castle was buzzing with excitement. Ophelia had put on a jumper that Mrs. Weasley made her that was canary yellow and black to show support for Cedric while she was sporting a badge that she made herself that said  _ Go Diggory!/ Go Potter!  _ In their respective house colors. 

She was sitting in the stands around the task arena with Fred, George, and Ginny. The twins were hollering for people to place bets on the task. Ginny and Ophelia were rolling their eyes as adults and students alike were placing their bets on who would be able to win the first task. It was barbaric. Soon enough, their jars were full of Galleons, Knuts, and Sickles from people who wanted to get a piece of the action for the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Ludo Bagman’s announcements came loud over the stands causing everyone to cheer with the excitment. “Up first in our task is Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts! He is facing the Swedish Short-Snout. The task for our champions is to sneak past the dragon and collect a Golden Egg amongst the other dragon eggs that they are protecting. This Golden Egg holds a clue for their next task.”

The crowd cheered wildly as Cedric walked into the arena in canary yellow and black clothing. His bronze hair blew in the wind as he took in the stony arena before him. “Come on Cedric!” Ophelia screamed, willing Cedric to stay safe throughout the task. 

Cedric was eyeing the dragon who was roaring and spitting fire from the spot in front of the large nest that contained the Golden Egg. With a wave of his wand, he transfigured a large rock into a dog that distracted the dragon as it ran in the opposite direction. The blue, Swedish Short-Snout went after the dog and Cedric dove for the golden egg.

The dragon whipped it’s head around seeming to know it was set up, sensing movement near the eggs. “Watch out, Cedric!” The dragon blew fire at the Hufflepuff boy who hid behind a rock as the crowd winced and gasped. He went for the egg, and grabbed it but burned his face in the process. He was taken to a Healer as the crowd cheered politely as the dragon tamers got the Swedish Short-Snout into a cage. 

“One down, three to go! Please welcome, Miss. Fleur Delacour!” Mr. Bagman announced. 

As the Beauxbatons girl stepped into the arena, she was trembling from head to toe. She still raised her chin up high in pride as the Common Welsh Green dragon was blowing fire throughout the arena. She smoothed the powder-blue skirt that she was wearing and breathed in heavily. Fleur whipped her wand around and put the dragon to sleep. She ran towards the Golden Egg and the dragon let out a snort that was fire. Ludo Bagman cried into the announcers device. “Oh I’m not sure that was wise! Careful now… good lord, I thought she’d had it then!”

Her skirt caught on fire as the dragon snored fire and she grabbed the Golden Egg from the nest. She extinguished the flame with a look of panicked on her face. Ophelia felt bad for her. She looked like she was going to have a panic attack with the thought of getting caught on fire. The audience cheered when she held up the Golden Egg after extinguishing her skirt.

“Up next… Krum!” 

Viktor Krum was going up against the Chinese Fireball. He looked very determined and used the Conjunctivitites Curse to blind the dragon and run to retrieve the egg. The audience was on their feet with anticipation as the Dragon stumbled from the blindness. Everyone began to boo as the dragon stomped all over the real eggs that were amongst the Golden Egg.

The judges took this into consideration and docked him points which caused the Durmstrung fans to boo as Krum walked off with the Golden Egg. 

“We now have… Harry Potter!”

Ophelia cheered and hollered with the twins and Ginny as Harry stepped into the arena in his red and gold uniform. He held up his wand but nothing happened. Ophelia looked confused. “Oh god… Harry… do something!”

Soon the Firebolt came swooping into the arena and he jumped on it, nearly avoiding the flames of the Hungarian Horntail dragon that was fiercely guarding the eggs in her nest. Harry went swooping through the air and the wind rushed through his black hair. 

Just as if the Seeker was in a Quidditch match, he planted his body firmly against the broomstick and went into a deep dive towards the Golden Egg. “I can’t watch!” Ophelia covered her hands as the twins laughed at her. 

The Dragon let out a fierce roar and the crowd groan and screamed which made Ophelia feel like she was going to be sick. “What just happened?”

“Open your eyes!” Fred complained. “Harry just went for another dive and barely missed the flames, the tail whipped up to him and swerved against his shoulder. His robes are ripped. He’s bleeding I think.”

“Oh, Harry!” She dropped her hands from her eyes and looked in horror as he began to fly up again. He flew higher and higher as the Horntail’s head rose with him. 

As soon as the Horntail spread her great, black wings, Harry dove fast towards the Golden Eggs that she left unprotected in her attempt to get Harry. He took his right hand off of his Firebolt and seized the Golden Egg. He then kicked off with a huge burst of speed, soared out over the stands while he was holding the egg with his uninjured arm. “Yes! Harry!!” Ophelia was jumping up and down, hugging Ginny as they cheered for Harry who was now smiling, but looking rather green as he glanced at his injured shoulder. 

The judges were now going to rate all of the champions once Harry was getting Healed and the Dragon tamers were getting the angry Hungarian Horntail into a cage. Harry and Viktor Krum tied for first place, Cedric was in second, and Fleur Delacour was in third place. Ophelia wanted to give Harry and Cedric a big hug.

She walked to the castle with the Weasleys’ as they were all talking animatedly about the first task. When Harry and Hermione came up to the castle, Opheila threw her arms around the Gryffindor Champion. “Excellent flying, Harry! I’m so proud of you!!”

“Thanks, O.” He blushed and noticed her pin. “Did you make that?”

“I have to support my boys, of course.” She smirked and looked at all the Gryffindors. “Well, I better be off to the Hufflepuff Common Room. I’m sure you lot are having a celebration too.”

The twins winked mischievously. “Of course, our champion got first.”

“Tied for first.” She reminded them as she skipped off to the kitchens to steal food and drinks to bring into the common room for when Cedric arrived. 

After a while, Cedric opened the entrance way and all of the Hufflepuff’s exploded into cheers and yells. There were mountains of cakes, flagons of pumpkin juice and butterbeer on every coffee table. He looked absolutely thrilled and smiled on the half of his face that wasn’t covered in the thick, orange, burn paste. 

“To Cedric!” Ernie stood up on one of the black arm chairs and held up his cup of foamy Butterbeer and all the other Hufflepuffs joined in as they raised their cups to cheer their champion. 

Cedric wandered over to where Ernie, Jacob, Grace, and Ophelia were standing near the mountain of pumpkin pasties. “Did you all do this?”

“We can’t let you go without a celebration, mate.” Jacob cheered and clapped Cedric on the back.

“Yea… you went against a dragon and lived to tell the tale!” Grace cheered and clinked her cup against Cedrics. “Now let’s drink to that!”

“Blimey this is heavy!” Ernie complained as he took the Golden Egg from Cedric’s hand. “What do you think the clue is inside?”

“Should I open it?” Cedric asked with a smirk on his face as he held it up high for the entire Common room to see.

“Open it! Open it! Open it!” The Hufflepuffs began to chant as Cedric dug his fingernails into the surface of the Golden Egg until he found a grove and pried it open. It was hollow and completely empty but a horrible noise of screeching filled the room. Everyone covered their ears immediately.

Cedric shut it as fast as possible. “I wonder what that could mean?”

“Maybe it’s the Cruciatus Curse.” Ophelia shivered at the thought.

“I bet it’s a banshee.” Grace said. 

“It sounded horrible.” Jacob shuttered.

“Let’s replace the sound with music, aye?” Ophelia suggested bringing the party back into swing and wanting to forget the horrible sound. She pulled out the muggle record player that Grace had brought down into the room and the girls put on a QUEEN album.

The entire room began to dance around as they sang along to “We are the Champions” and they held Cedric up on their shoulders pointing to him to signify that he was the champion that made them all feel like they were on top of the world. 

They all danced around the common room and Ophelia was flashing pictures of Cedric being hoisted onto Jacob and Ernie’s shoulder with the Golden Egg up in the air. She flashed a picture of Grace giving Cedric a big kiss on the cheek, making him blush before also kissing the Golden Egg. It was a night of high spirits.

Once again, Professor Sprout had to come and break apart the party. She shook her head with a playful smile on her face. “I love you all, but you have to go to bed. This is getting out of hand. I don’t want the other Heads of their Houses to think I’ve lost control of you all. Now, off to bed. All of you!”

They all said goodnight to Cedric and patted the Golden Egg for good luck before they went off to their own dormitories and closed their eyes, letting sleep take them away after a night full of rambunctious celebrating. 


	51. Chapter Fifty-One: The Big Announcement

**Chapter Fifty-One: The Big Announcement**

Everyone who was in their fourth year or up were required to attend a meeting with Professor Sprout in a large classroom. All of the desks had been moved out of the center of the room and lined the wall. She instructed for all of the girls to sit on the left and for all the Hufflepuff boys to sit on the right. Professor Sprout smiled as she walked down the middle of the classroom and looked at her house. “Now, I’m sure you are all wondering why you are here. Something exciting that goes with the Triwizard Tournament is the Yule Ball! This is a traditional part of the Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above, although you may invite a younger student if you wish. Dress robes will be worn and the ball will start at eight o’clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall.”

All of the girls began to giggle nervously as the boys began to groan. “Now, now. The Yule Ball is a chance for all of us to let our hair down and enjoy. However, it does not mean that we will be relaxing our standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most displeased if my Hufflepuff students embarrassed the school in any way. Now… an important part of the Yule Ball is also knowing how to waltz.” She cleared her throat… “Mr. Diggory, would you mind.”

Cedric's face paled. “What?”

“Well, as our champion, come up here and help me demonstrate.” Professor Sprout said again and had Cedric come up to stand in the center of the classroom which earned a few giggles and jabs from his classmates.

She flicked her wand and a large wizarding music player began to play a Waltz song. “This is a traditional waltz. It is very important that you all play close attention. Now, you will put your hand on my waist.”

Cedric closed his eyes, trying not to laugh and put his hand on his Herbology professor's waist, looking like he wanted to die in that moment. “Now, it is important that you pay attention and watch the steps. Now with a 1...2...3...1...2...3…” Professor Sprout began to help Cedric show the Hufflepuff’s how to do the Waltz along to the music.

Once they had gotten into a swing, she called for every boy and girl to pair up. All of the girls stood up and Grace and Ophelia rushed over to Jacob and Ernie so they weren’t paired up with one of the gawking fourth years. 

The Hufflepuff’s were horrible at first but after an hour of practicing, Professor Sprout cheered their progress and let them go. “Now remember! It is tradition for a boy to ask a girl to the Yule Ball! I expect to see you all there and please stop to tell me, Hello! I love to see you all dressed up.” She smiled at them fondly and let them all go.

“Oi, nice dance moves, Diggory.” Jacob laughed as Cedric lunged for him. “Just saying! You better save a dance for Professor Sprout!”

“I can’t wait for the ball!” Grace giggled excitedly. “Who are you boys going to ask?”

Cedric blushed a deep red color. “Er-- I don’t know yet.” He looked at Ophelia and Grace before looking down at his leather wrist watch, suddenly very anxious to get to something that he deemed very important.

Jacob followed after him as he waved back towards the girls. “I think he didn’t want to say he wanted to ask Cho in front of me.” Ophelia sighed. “We are friends. He shouldn’t feel weird about that kind of thing.”

“What if he asks you?” Grace asked with her eyes wide. “What if he still likes you?”

“His father would be furious. He fancies Cho. I need to find a date and not hold my breath about Cedric.” The two Hufflepuff girls began to brainstorm about who could possibly take them to the date and they had back up plans for when those boys became unavailable. Grace insisted that they do their makeup and she painted their nails for the next couple of days to catch the eyes of any potential dates to the Ball. 

Going to classes was like holding your breath for the entire day. When a boy would walk up to a girl, all the others would lean in to listen to their conversation. When a girl would get asked, all the surrounding girls would burst into fits of giggles and congratulate the girl. It was challenging when a Durmstrang boy asked a girl due to the language barrier but it didn’t stop the girl from getting all giddy from the joy of being deemed worthy of a date. 

Ophelia was feeling like no one would ask her when she was sitting in the Great Hall during the essay portion of the Potions final. All of the Hogwarts students were sitting at the many long tables, dutily filling in information about their writing prompt. 

“Oi! Lupin!” Harry whispered to her from across the table. “Do you have any Hufflepuff friends that don’t have a date for the ball yet?”

She rolled her blue eyes as Snape caught Harry whispering and smacked him against the back of his head with a Potions textbook. She waited for the professor to walk away before whispering back. “No… Lee Jordan asked Grace yesterday. She’s my only friend who’s a girl really. I could ask Jacob if he’d want to go with you.” She giggled before dipping her quill into her ink pot and finishing the sentence she was working on before Harry interrupted her thought process.

A piece of wadded up parchment smacked her in the face from her left. She looked up with annoyance at the twins who were giggling. “What do you want?” She demanded.

Fred smirked and began to whisper. “Do you…” he pointed at her, “want to go to the ball…” he pretended to dance, “with me?” The Gryffindor boy pointed his thumbs towards his chest with a wink.

Ophelia blushed and bit her tongue. It was such a Fred thing to do. Ask her to the ball while making a scene since everyone was supposed to be quietly working on their papers. She nodded her head. “Yea, that sounds cool.”

Ron groaned. “That’s how easy it is? I should've asked Ophelia.” 

“Sorry, I don’t think I would’ve wanted to go with an ickle-fourth year.” She joked with him as she waved her wand, drying the remaining wet ink on the 12 inch parchment paper before jumping up and handing in the essay to Professor Snape.

When she was out of the Great Hall, she felt like jumping up and down in the air. She finally had a date for the Yule Ball! She couldn’t wait for Grace to finish her essay and tell her who she was going with. Ophelia raced up to the Owlery to fill in her parents about her week at Hogwarts since she hasn’t responded yet to their letter.

When she was up in the owlery, she dipped her quil into the ink pot as Stella perched herself on her shoulder. As she unrolled the parchment, Neville’s voice made her jump. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, Ophelia. I just wanted to ask… um… would you want to go to the Yule Ball with me?”

Her heart sank. “Oh… Neville… I…”

“It’s okay.” He blushed and crushed his eyelids together. “I figured. Sorry, I shouldn’t have even bothered asking.”

“No. It’s not that. If you would’ve asked me an hour ago I would’ve said yes, honestly. Fred Weasley has already asked me. Otherwise, I would have gone with you, Neville.” She frowned and began to think about the limited amount of girls who were left as an option to go to the Yule Ball. “Neville!”

“What?” The gawky teen shoved his hands into his pockets.

“I have an idea!”

“And…?”

“You should ask Ginny Weasley! She would be so much fun!” Ophelia’s eyes lit up. “She would be a great dancer also. Her and I dance all the time in the living room at the Burrow. I promise you she’ll say yes.”

“Alright! I will go ask her!” His face lit up. “Thanks for the tip, Ophelia!” 

She smiled to herself and went back to writing her letter.

_ I survived another week at Hogwarts! Poor Harry is trying to find a date to the Yule Ball. I would lead him in the way towards some of my friends but my limited resource of female friends are all taken. He seems oddly stressed out about this. Was his father this unlucky with the ladies? _

_ Fred Weasley and Neville Longbottom asked me to the dance. I would’ve said yes to either of them but Fred asked me first so that’s who I’m going to the dance with. Grace is going with his best friend Lee so it should be fun! _

_ I hope you both are doing well. I miss you. _

_ I am keeping my eyes out for Harry. Nothing has seemed to be troubling yet. _

_ -O _

* * *

Christmas came faster than anyone could imagine. Grace and Ophelia spent the entire day getting ready for the ball. Grace was calling it a Spa Day. Her mother had sent her all sorts of things that the girls may need to get ready for the big day. 

The two Hufflepuff girls soaked their body in the tub with scented oils and bright bubbles that filled the water surface until their skin turned slightly pink from the heat. When they got out, they plucked every stray hair on their eyebrows and made sure that their skin was flawless. Grace got to work painting their nails. The girls laughed together and excitedly gossiped about who they thought would be snogging at the dance tonight. “I hope Lee goes for a move.” Grace giggled as she waved her wand, drying their nails.

“Oh my Godric, do you like Lee Jordan?”

“What’s not to like? He’s tall, dark, and handsome. Also he’s super popular and I think he would be an excellent kisser.” Grace wiggled her eyebrows and the two girls burst into nervous laughter.

When they were done with their nails, they got to work on their makeup and hair. Grace, who was an expert at this, did both of their hair and makeup. She straightened Ophelia’s hair and it was surprisingly very long when the curls didn’t shrink the length. Her hair was gracing the very bottom of her back and was shiny with the anti-frizz product that they had picked out from an advertisement in Witch Weekly. Grace curled her own hair.

The girls both went for slightly natural eye makeup looks with the makeup. The girls did go for some shimmery shadows that made their eyes light up and dance. Grace insisted to give her friend a winged eyeliner, telling her that it would make her blue eyes more striking. Ophelia went for a nude lipstick with a little bit of shimmery lip gloss while Grace went for a bold red look. She claimed it would help her simple black dress pop. 

When it was time to put the dresses on, the girls were so excited that Ophelia thought that she might make some accidental magic happen with her nerves. “Ophelia! You look beautiful!” Grace was sitting at the edge of her bed as she put on her red heels. “Give me a spin!”

Ophelia giggled and did as she was asked. She twirled around in the dress and let the gown look like it was sparkling under a bright light as she did so. When she was done twirling, she put on the simple necklace that Sirius sent, claiming that it used to be his mothers and he didn’t want it. It was opal, her birthstone. The stone dazzled just like her dress and sat in between her collarbone. “I think I’m ready!” She sang as she finished securing the clasp on the nude heels she was wearing as she stuck her leg out from the slit on the dress to examine her heel. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be!” Grace smiled and linked their arms together. “Let’s knock ‘em dead.”

As they got closer to the entrance of the common room, her nerves were getting the best of her. Butterflies filled her stomach as she worried what others would think of her showy and flashy dress. Ophelia nervously stepped out of the Hufflepuff common room and listened to the clack of her heels as she walked on the stone floor. When she poked her head out to the hallway, Fred, George, Lee, and Angelina were all laughing and standing around waiting for Grace and Ophelia. “You look beautiful. Come on.” Grace smiled at her with her painted red lips. With all the makeup on, Grace was looking more like her mother.

Ophelia took a deep breath and allowed her feet to carry her towards the group. Angelina gasped. “Your dress is amazing, Ophelia!” The Gryffindor girl grabbed her hand and forced her to twirl around to get the full glimmering affect. “This must’ve cost a handful of Galleons!”

“My dad wanted me to arrive in style, I guess.” She smiled and turned her attention to Fred who had transfigured his tie that she bought to be a baby blue color that matched the corsage he held in his hands. 

His mouth had fallen open like he forgot what he was supposed to do with it. “Freddie, did you mom get those for tonight?” She teased and eyed the flowers.

The Gryffindor coughed twice and blushed as bright as his hair. “Er-- yea. She said you told her what your dress looked like and she wanted to get flowers that would bring out your eyes.” He slid the corsage onto her wrist. “You look… breathtaking, Ophelia.”

Now it was her turn to blush. “Well, thank you, Freddie.” She held out her arm and let him tuck it into the crook of his arm so that he could lead her towards the Yule Ball. “Now, let’s go dance the night away!”

The group of 6th years were shocked when they walked into the Great Hall. It was decorated to look like it was snowing in the hall while dazzling lights filled the room. The long tables were transfigured away and small circle tables were on the edge of the room while the center had a large dance floor that was glistening like it was covered in snow. There were hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry ceiling. 

All of the attendants began to clap politely as the champions walked out with their dates. Fleur was accompanied by Rodger Davies, Cedric had taken Cho, Harry had asked Parvati, and on Viktor Krum’s arm was Hermione Granger. The champions began to dance with their dates and poor Harry looked like he was trying very hard not to stomp on Parvati’s foot. 

After they danced, the dance floor began to fill with other professors, ministry officials, and students. Fred took the opportunity to seize Ophelia’s hand and drag her out to the dance floor. He put his hand on her waist and looked down at her with a big goofy smile on his face. The Weird Sister’s music was filling the Hall and the two friends were dancing wildly together as they laughed when they got dirty looks from uptight girls in Beauxbatons and formal teens who went to Durmstrang. 

George, Angelina, Lee, and Grace joined them in the wild dancing and they had made a small clump as the music got faster, no longer waltzing music and instead more music that would be casually listened to by teenagers at Hogwarts. Fred was always standing directly next or behind Ophelia, making sure that she was taken care of throughout the dance, filling her glass of pumpkin juice or butter beer when she needed.

When Cedric came over to them with Cho, he gave Ophelia a hug and whispered about how great she looked. Ophelia smiled when they broke apart and gave Cho a polite nod. It was weird, but Cedric looked ecstatic to be next to the younger girl. She wouldn’t tease him or make him feel guilty for moving on.

Fred pulled her in close when one of the more slow songs was playing. She leaned her head against his chest and closed her eyes. It was nearing midnight and most of the attendants of the ball and began to leave. She saw some couples that she recognized like Lee and Grace, George and Angelina, Neville and Ginny, and Cedric and Cho still dancing on the dance floor as other girls were crying and boys were leaving with their date's heels in their hands. “I’m glad you asked me to the ball, Freddie.”

“Well… I had to have the best date of course.” He winked. “Ophelia… there’s something I want to tell you…”

Before he could continue, the Weird Sisters finished their last song and the remaining guests of the Yule Ball burst into applause as the band waved their wands and started to pack up their instruments on the stage. As the groups of students began to leave the Great Hall, Ophelia looked up at Fred. “What were you going to say, Freddie?”

“It’s nothing.” He blushed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Come on, you aren’t going back to the Hufflepuff Common Room just yet.”

“Oh no. Where are you taking me?” She was now full of worry, hoping that he wouldn’t ruin this entire night by playing a prank on her.

He winked in response as they walked through the corridors, avoiding Prefects and Professors on their way. She demanded where they were going again but was ignored. They went up  on the seventh floor in the left corridor of the Hogwarts castle and has a hidden entrance opposite the tapestry depicting the attempt of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet. When they approached the hallway, an ornate door appeared before them and Fred winked at her. “Afterparty.” 

When he swung the door open half of the older Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws were already there. The large room had a beautiful but simply dance floor in the center of the room that was surrounded by twinkling lights and chairs that depicted the three house colors of the students who were in attendance at this small afterparty. 

Her eyes scanned the room, looking past the beautiful decorations and trying to spot people she knew. Lee was holding different records in his hands, debating which one to play first while Grace pointed to some of her favorites. George and Angelina were opening up bottles of butterbeer at a long table that was filled with drinks and snacks. The music filled the room as the twinkling lights began to slowly change colors, making the room have a glow despite the darkness. “How-- how did you and George do all this?”

“I can’t go revealing my secrets.” Fred winked as he pulled her onto the dance floor for the second time that night.

This dancing was more carefree than at the Yule Ball. There were no Professors or Ministry officials watching the teenagers as they danced to muggle and wizarding music alike. Ophelia threw her head back and laughed with glee as George and Fred were having a dance battle in the middle of the crowd. Fred winked at her as the twins decided it was a tie. 

He led her over to the refreshment table and opened up a bottle of Butterbeer for himself and her. “I’ve had a really fun night, O.” 

“Me too. I’m so happy you asked me to go to the Ball with you.”

“Smile!” Grace popped up out of nowhere with her magical camera. She pressed her delicate finger on the button and a bright light sprang into action. Fred took the opportunity and seized Ophelia’s hand. He twirled her in place while she was giggling madly. When they were done twirling, he pulled her in close to his side as he clinked their bottles together and they both took a long drag from the Butterbeer as the light went away, signalling that the magical loop was finished. “That’s going to be so cute!” Grace giggled and danced over to George and Angelina to get a picture of them as well. 

“I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off of you. I definitely have the most beautiful date.” He smiled genuinely at her with longing in his warm, brown eyes. “Ophelia…”

Her heart skipped a beat as he leaned closer to her. “What, Freddie?”

“Would it be crazy if I kissed you right now? Because I’m going to be honest, that’s all I’ve wanted to do since you stepped foot out of the Hufflepuff common room.”

She forgot how to breathe as she looked into his eyes. There was a dance of longing and mischief in them as he smirked down at her. “Yes it would be insane… but when has being crazy ever stopped you before.”

Ophelia put her hand on the back of his neck as he leaned down and they pressed their lips together. Her friends burst into cheers at the two and she felt a flash of a bulb, signaling that Grace was taking yet another picture. She couldn’t care. She was kissing  _ Fred Weasley _ . 

His lips were different from Cedric’s. His kiss was more playful and his hands wandered on her back, pulling her in tight against his body. She smiled a bit as he backed away and pressed his lips against the tip of her nose.

“It’s about bloody time!” Lee cheered.

Fred giggled as Ophelia blushed bright red. She was so thankful for tonight and her heart continued to do leaps in her chest as Fred firmly grasped her hand inside his. She knew that her crush was way bigger than it ever had been before on the red-headed Gryffindor. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! The Yule Ball was so fun to write about!!


	52. Chapter Fifty-Two: Weasley’s Word

**Chapter Fifty-Two: Weasley’s Word**

After the Yule Ball, it seemed like it was impossible for classes to resume as normally, but they did. All of the students did take a moment to get over seeing their Professors dancing with one another at the Ball. In Transfiguration class, Ophelia was in the middle of getting out her materials to take notes out of her shoulder bag when George slid into the seat that Grace normally sat in directly to her left. “What do you want, Weasley?”

“Just popping in to see how we are feeling after the Ball… I did see with my very eyes someone kissing my brother. I’m hurt. I thought there was something between us.” George joked around as the Hufflepuff girl swatted at his chest. “But honestly, Ophelia. Between us girls, how was it?” He winked and a mischievous and goofy smile filled his freckled face.

“You don’t get to know before me!” Grace complained and attempted to push the tall Gryffindor boy out of her normal seat. “Ophelia…” she grunted, still trying to push George out of the chair that he seemed comfortable in, and pretending to not realize that Grace was trying to push him out. “How was it?”

She blushed and covered her eyes with her hands. “You two… oh my Godric. It was lovely. I hope he thinks the same. We haven’t talked about it.”

George let out a bellowing laugh as he hopped up from the seat, sending Grace flying forward as she was still trying to push him. “Trust me, Ophelia. He’s been wanting to do that for years.” 

“What?” She demanded as Professor Mcgonagall rushed into the classroom in her emerald robes.

“No talking!” She snipped as she waved her wand and the chalkboard filled with notes of the NEWT level transfiguration class. “I expect us all to be paying attention despite the distractions that we have encountered due to the Yule Ball. Now, turn to page 409 of your textbooks to see the wand movement illustrations while I lecture. Come on, now.”

When the class ended, Ophelia was hot on George’s heels. The tall Gryffindor was walking swiftly and it was hard for her to keep up, she practically had to run. “George Fabian Weasley! You tell me right now!”

“Oh come on. The full name?” He winked down at her and laughed again. “I thought you were supposed to be smart. You should know that our dear Frederick has had a crush on you for a long time. Why do you think he’s nice to you?”

“You’re nice to me. That doesn’t mean you want to snog me.” She argued.

“Yes but I’m the nicer twin.” He winked. 

She was unable to ask him anything else because they joined the rest of their friends who were hanging around a few benches in the stone corridor in front of the tapestry that depicted the Whomping Willow. “Ophelia!” Angelina called out. “How was first day of term?”

“Fine. McGonnagal wasn’t easing up despite the Yule Ball. You?” Her eyes wandered past her friend and spotted George, Lee, and Fred all laughing behind her.

“It was fine.” Angelina giggled and turned her head. “He hasn’t shut up about the afterparty. You should know.”

“What’s going to happen now do you think?”

“I think that’s up to you, O.” Angelina winked and slinked her bag over her shoulder. “Oi. I’m off to go find Katie and Alicia. Catch you lot, later.”

Grace smiled at Ophelia and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I better be off to Ancient Runes. I’ll talk to you later tonight, okay?” She held out her pinky in the muggle gesture that the girls fondly do when they know that something is important that they want to talk about.

She linked her pinky around her friend’s olive tone finger and kissed the back of Grace’s hand. “Promise.”

“Lee… are you coming?” Grace teased as she skipped off, glancing behind her for her classmate. The Gryffindor boy ran off to catch up with the skipping Hufflepuff girl as they were off to go to their NEWT level class. 

George coughed twice. “You know what… I think I forgot my pants. Yes. I forgot my pants this morning, how foolish of me. Well by love birds!” He cackled as he walked off towards the marble staircase that led to the Gryffindor common room, very clearly wearing his dress pants. 

“So… then there were two.” Fred teased as he slid on the bench next to Ophelia. “How are you?”

“You’re asking how I am?” She laughed nervously.

“Well… yea. Should I not?” He ruffled his eyebrows.

She shook her head. “No… no… I’m good. Just school, you know. How are you?”

Fred smiled. “I’m perfect.” He laced his fingers through hers so they were holding hands on her lap. “I’m right where I want to be.”

Her heart skipped a beat as heat flashed up her neck and across her cheeks. Ophelia let out a nervous laugh. “You’re so cheesy.”

“Ah… but you love it.” He winked down at her.

“You’re right… I do. I guess… I’m just a little confused where we stand.” She admitted while his thumb made comforting circles on the back of her hand.

“Mmm… what do you mean?” The Gryffindor teen pondered as his arm that was closest to her snaked around her shoulders so that she was leaning in to him.

Ophelia gulped. “Well… you’re my best friend. But… I don’t snog my friends.”

“You snogged me.” He challenged with a playful light dancing in his eyes. 

“Yes… we did… that’s why I was wondering… what do you think of this.” She gestured down to their looped hands before looking deep into his eyes, searching for answers that they were both dancing around.

Fred smiled. “You mean… are we dating?”

She let her heart skip a beat and the blush on her cheeks grew more hot from embarrassment. “Yes. What do you think is?”

“Well… I for one would love to be dating the one and only, fantastically brilliant and smart, funny, stunning, Ophelia Lupin. However, I don’t know how you feel about this.” He winked and gave her a kiss on her red hot cheek.

“I… I would like to try.” She admitted and squeezed her eyes shut from embarrassment. “Godric Gryffindor why is this so awkward?” Ophelia laughed and looked into his brown eyes. “I’m so bad at this type of thing.”

“Well… let’s try this. You seemed pretty good at this.” Fred leaned his head down and connected their lips.

She let out a small gasp of surprise before she returned the enthusiasm and let her hands wander up to the hair that was at the base of his neck. Ophelia giggled under the kiss as Fred playfully tickled her side while they were kissing. When her mouth was open, he slipped his tongue in and her heart went racing. She pulled him close against her body and sighed into the touch before they heard a gasp come from the hallway.

The two sixth years broke apart, wiping their lips off with embarrassed looks of being caught on their face. Ginny Weasly, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom were standing, frozen in their spot on the stone floor. They had varying facial expressions. Luna was looking dreamy and smiling, Neville was looking embarrassed and staring at the wall behind them instead of actually looking at them, while Ginny was crossing between disgust and pure joy. “You snogged my brother!” She finally blurted out which made Ophelia wince.

“Don’t shout about it!” Ophelia complained.

“Oh please do shout about it. Although, can you specify which brother. I don’t want people thinking she’s snogging Ron or George.” Fred winked which earned him a swat from both Ginny and Ophelia. “What?! I’m proud of snogging you. I’ll announce it to the entire school during dinner if I have to get the word out.”

“So… what is this?” Ginny asked with a confused look on her face.

“Oh, Ginevra. How foolish of me.” Fred hopped up and grabbed Ophelia’s hand, pulling her with me. “I didn’t introduce you. This is Ophelia. She’s my girlfriend.” He winked at his sister.

“Girlfriend?!” Ginny screamed and turned to Ophelia with a big smile on her face. “I have to tell Charlie!” With that, she darted off to the Owlery with Luna skipping behind her and Neville trying to keep up with them. 

“Well… I think the entire school should know now by… say first thing tomorrow?” Fred teased as he began to walk them to their next class.

“You’re impossible, Freddie.” She rolled her eyes.

He laughed while throwing his head back, sending the joyful sound echoing down the hallway. “Yes… yet somehow you chose me out of your picking of guys.” Fred poked her in the side, making her jump before he wrapped his arm around her back while they walked through the castle. She could get used to the comforting feeling that he gave her.

Sure enough, the entire school knew about the new relationship by Breakfast. This is also when the post was arriving. Ophelia got two letters, one from Charlie Weasley and another from Molly Weasley. She blushed and looked up from her bowl of oatmeal at the Gryffindor table where Ginny was grinning from ear to ear. “That little shit.” Ophelia grumbled while she undid Charlie’s letter first.

_Ophelia!_

_I cannot wait to rub it in the face of Tonks that you are dating my little brother! She owes me a drink. Now, I’m sure you can handle yourself but just so you know… if Fred hurts you, I’ll kick his ass for you. I’ll fly on a dragon from Romania just to do it._

_Can’t wait for the family to find out! I won’t tell. I know Ginny is a big mouth though so I’m sure many already know._

_Sending love and happiness from Romania_

_Your favorite dragon tamer_

The other note from Mrs. Weasley made her nervous to open. Was the matriarch going to be mad about them dating? She took a big breath, to calm her nerves before opening the parchment.

_Ophelia_

_My dear, how exciting the news we found out from Ginny. I’m so happy that you are dating Fred. I think you’re a great influence on him. Please tell me if he does anything wrong because I raised him to be a gentleman. I have Ginny out there too, I’m sure she wouldn’t be afraid to remind him how Weasley men are supposed to treat women._

_I hope you are doing well, darling. Please share the attached fudge with whoever you think needs a little cheering up. I know I was so excited to find out about you and Freddie that I baked a lot of goods, Arthur was furious with how the kitchen looked._

_Anyways, know you are always welcome at the Burrow! We love you._

_Love,_

_Molly and Arthur_

Grace, who was reading the letters over Ophelia’s shoulder grabbed at a fudge square and popped it into her mouth. “Well I think it’s safe to say that the parents love you.”

“Who loves Ophelia?” Cedric asked, looking up with interest from the Daily Prophet article about the Triwizard champions that he was reading with Jacob and Ernie at the Hufflepuff table. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.” Ophelia responded while handing a piece of fudge to the boys. “She sent these as well.” 

“Oh… is it true then? The rumor?” Jacob asked with his eyebrows raised high into his hairline. “You’re actually dating one of the twins?”

The Hufflepuff girl blushed deeply and nodded her head. “Fred to be exact. I don’t get why none of you just asked me if it was true. We are all friends.”

Ernie sank his teeth into the fudge and shrugged. “We didn't want to upset you in case people were just talking. You know how rumors go around the castle.”

“Well I do appreciate that. But honestly, just ask me if you guys ever hear something about me and wonder if it’s true. I don’t bite.” 

Grace laughed as she swiped another piece of fudge from the wrapped container that Ophelia was holding. “I bite. Don’t ask me if you hear a rumor.”

The group of friends began to laugh as they finished up their breakfast and grabbed their things to walk to their first class of the day. Ophelia fixed her bag on her shoulder and walked with Grace to Potions. “Are you doing any internships this summer for your NEWTs?”

Ophelia frowned. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I was going to talk to Madam Pomfrey about shadowing her here for internship opportunities. I’m not sure if she’ll have time with all of the Triwizard Tournament action going on. Although, the injuries there would be perfect for an internship. How about you?”

Grace shrugged and fiddled with the Hufflepuff charm on the simple chain that was around her neck. “I wrote to Gringotts. I hope they take me in. They do have a Curse-Breaker internship. I just know that it’s really competitive.” 

“You’ll do great. If they don’t select you, they’re morons.”

“Watch what you say about the Goblins. They might steal all the galleons in your vault.” Her friend giggled as they found their seats around a cauldron in the Potions classroom.

Professor Snape waited at the front of the classroom for everyone to enter. Once everyone was present, he waved his wand and the list of ingredients for the Essence of Sanity potion appeared on the chalkboard. “I expect you to have familiarized yourself with the Potions that we have been reviewing thus far this term. I will not be giving you the directions or the name of this potion. Simply by seeing a list of ingredients, you should be able to recall and create the potion. Pair up with one person and begin. Bottle up and turn in your potion when you are finished.”

Everyone quickly got to work as the Professor turned his silver sand timer up at the front of the classroom. The two Hufflepuff girls looked at each other and whispered, “Essence of Sanity” at the same time. Grace went up to the front of the classroom to get out the ingredients that were listed on the board while Ophelia got to work prepping their work area. 

They were the first group to complete their potion and they carefully bottled it up and turned it into Professor Snape. He gave them a small quirk of the corner of his mouth, his odd version of a smile. “Thank you, ladies. 1 point each to Hufflepuff for being the first to complete the Potion. I’ll see you all next week in class.”

Grace and Ophelia left the potions classroom and walked to the library, to get a head start on their Transfiguration homework that was due next week. When they sat down at Ophelia’s favorite large, oak table, Cedric came over to them looking rather stressed out. “I need your help, O.”

“What’s going on?” She grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at her instead of scanning the library. “Tell me, Ced.”

“I know what the second task is going to be. I need your help researching a way that I can breathe underwater for an hour.” His voice dropped and he leaned into whisper into her ear. “It’s mermaids, Ophelia.”

“That was the clue in the egg? What did it say exactly, Ced.” She got out a piece of parchment paper and copied down the words he was reciting to her. 

Ophelia scribbled down, _Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour, the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

“So… the mermaids are going to take something that you have to recover?” She nodded to herself. “I’ll grab a book on underwater magic and you research the creatures that live in the Black Lake. We will take notes and work together. Grace, make sure if anyone comes by, we transfigure the work into something academic related. We don’t want another champion to copy Cedric’s work.”

Her two friends nodded and they all got to work. Ophelia was breathing fast as she did research after research on what would be the most efficient ways for Cedric to be able to breathe underwater while still being able to hold his wand and fight off any of the creatures that live in the murky waters. The Second Task was coming up quickly and she knew they had to work fast…


	53. Chapter Fifty-Three: Second Task

**Chapter Fifty-Three: Second Task**

“Harry!” Ophelia whispered to the dark-haired Gryffindor as he was sleeping on a library book at one of the tables that were tucked away from the main area of the Hogwarts library. “Wake up!”

He jolted up and looked around for the source of the whispering. He visibly relaxed when he saw the yellow-trimmed robe of a Hufflepuff. “Oh, hey, Ophelia. I was worried you were Malfoy.”

“Forgot him. Have you figured out what the clue in the Golden Egg is?”

“Cedric told me… well he told me to take a bath with the egg. I got the clue but I have no idea how I’m going to actually be underwater for an entire hour.” He rested his chin back down against the Quidditch Through the Ages book. “Do you have any advice?”

“Well… what I found for Cedric I don’t think is going to work very well for you. It’s a Year 6 spell and I’m worried that if I sent you under the water, it wouldn’t last the entire hour and then you would…”

“Die?” Harry suggested, clearly not feeling as anxious as she was.

“How the hell are you so calm about this?” She sank into the wooden chair that was across from the Chosen One. “Cedric is going to do the Bubble Charm. That’s no good for you. We can do research and figure something out.”

“You sound like Hermione.” He groaned and stretched his arms above his head. “I just want to forget about it.”

“Harry you can’t fucking forget about it. We have to research.” Ophelia smacked his head with her Potions textbook. “I’ll see if there’s a Potion that can help us. You can research charm work that you are capable of doing. If I catch you slacking off, I will rat you out to Sirius.”

He frowned and looked at her. “Have you been writing to him?”

“Obviously. If I let you die in the Black Lake, I’m going to go against my word of helping you through this bloody mess. Now get to work.” She snapped at him and tossed her black curls up into a messy bun at the top of her head.

The two were working diligently in the library, writing down notes here and there on anything that they might find helpful. Unfortunately, they had spent hours here and nothing was fitting just yet. Harry groaned and said that he was going off to find Hermione and see if she found something yet up in the Gryffindor common room. He was off and wished her luck.

Shortly after Harry Potter left, two seats were moved at the table she was sitting at. She looked up from her spot in a Potions book that she was borrowing currently from the library shelves and saw Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom smiling at her. “Hello!” She called to them in a quieted voice.

“What are you working on, Ophelia?” Ginny asked curiously.

“I’m trying to figure out how I could hypothetically breathe underwater for an hour. You know… all hypothetically.” She gulped, hoping that the two Gryffindors wouldn’t figure out that this was related to the Second Task.

Neville turned his head to the side, thinking. “You know, I think I remember reading about a plant a couple months ago that helped you grow gills.” He stood up from the table and went through the library to look for the book. 

When he returned to the table, he placed a thick book down on the table that was titled  _ Rare Mediteranian Plants for Herbology _ . Neville and Ophelia put the book in between the two of them as they scanned the contents of the book. “Here!” Neville exclaimed as he pointed to a passage about a plant called Gillyweed.

Ophelia raked her eye through the passage and muttered out loud so Ginny could hear them too. “Gillyweed is a magical plant that, when eaten, allows a human to breathe underwater. It is said to resemble a bundle of slimy, grey-green rat tails. When eaten, it gives the consumer gills, allowing them to breathe underwater, and webbing between the fingers and toes, allowing them to swim underwater with ease. Gillyweed is native to the Mediterranean Sea. Majoribanks discovered Gillyweed in the mid-eighteenth or nineteenth century, while Elladora Ketteridge is said to have discovered its effects about a century earlier. This error would be fixed if the dates were switched, or if Majoribanks was alive during the same time as, or before Ketteridge, as he merely discovered the existence of Gillyweed, while Ketteridge discovered its magical effects.” She looked up at the Gryffindor boy. “This is perfect, Neville! Oh my Godric, I could kiss you right now this is so perfect!” 

Neville blushed a bright red as he smiled and shrugged off the compliment. Ophelia grabbed her parchment paper and her ink pot to jot down the passage about Gillyweed. She would make sure to get this information to Harry and try to figure out where to obtain the rare plant. Perhaps she should consider talking to Professor Sprout about it. She was sure that if the greenhouse grew Gillyweed that she would’ve already seen it since she was in a NEWT level Herbology class. 

She said a quick goodbye to the two Gryffindors and dashed up to the Owlery to write to her father and Sirius about her idea for Harry in the second task. She hoped that it would be enough time to reach them and come back with what they thought about the idea of Gillyweed.

When she was in the owlery, she gave Stella a treat and sat down to write a letter to them. She dipped her quill into the black ink pot and thought long and hard before placing the quill onto the parchment paper.

_ Hello! _

_ I hope you are both doing well. So much has been going on at Hogwarts. Thankfully, Ced told me what the clue was in the Egg and I was able to help both him and Harry figure out how to accomplish the Second Task. It was rather challenging to find something for Harry to be able to do since he is so young. However, I was researching with Neville and we found an idea, Gillyweed. Do you know where I could find some or buy some for Harry for the Second Task? _

_ I am so relieved that I forced him to do some research. He seemed like he just wanted to forget about the task altogether which was so worrisome because he cannot get complacent in this dangerous competition! Please remind him that because I don’t think me saying anything made the impact. _

_ Anyways, I better be off and get started on my homework since all day I’ve been dedicating my energy to the Second Task for the two boys. _

_ Oh… I guess I haven’t written to you lot since before the Yule Ball. I just want to inform you so that you don’t hear about this from Mrs or Mr Weasley but I’m sort of dating Fred. Please don’t give me a lecture because I think I would simply die of embarrassment. _

_ I love you! _

_ XOXO _

_ Ophelia _

At dinner that night, Ophelia sat at the Gryffindor table next to Fred and Ginny. They were all talking about the second task coming up and wondering what it could possibly be. Ophelia kept quiet, not wanting to reveal what was going to happen since it wasn’t her secret to tell. Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulder while they finished eating as they listened to Lee and George argue about what the task was going to be.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” Fred teased.

“I’m just anxious to hear back from Sirius and my dad is all.” She half-lied. “I wrote to them today and sort of informed them about us.”

“Ooo you told the parents? That’s some serious stuff.” He winked playfully at her. “Well, hopefully I made a great impression as your dad's student. I am a teacher's pet, always diligently taking notes, never talking in class… oh wait… that’s you!”

She elbowed his chest and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a brat.”

“Yes, but I’m your brat.” Fred ruffled her hair and gave her a quick peck on the cheek which made Ginny groan about public displays of affection. “Oh, you’ll understand when you’re older and have a boyfriend, Ginny.” Her brother teased the younger girl. 

The weeks leading up to the second task went by to fast for Ophelia’s liking. She was anxious to hear back from her letter to see what her father thought about the idea of using Gillyweed during the second task. It was the night before the Second Task and Ophelia thought she was going to have another panic attack when she still hasn’t heard back from her dad. 

The twins and her were walking through the hallways of the castle, and she was ignoring them just trying to think of nothing else but where she could find Gillyweed within 24 hours. They were interrupted by Professor McGonagall looking rather stressed out. “Good evening, Miss. Lupin, Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley.”

They all smiled at their Transfiguration professor. Fred gulped. “We haven’t done anything. We promise.”

The professor smiled and shook her head. “You are not getting in trouble. I actually need you three to go collect your brother and Miss. Granger.”

“Which brother?” George joked. “It might be a while to return from Egypt or Romania.”

“There's also the git at the ministry.” Fred added.

“The brother who is currently in the castle.” Professor McGonnagal sighed and shook her head. “The younger one as well, if I need to be more specific.” When Fred opened his mouth, she added. “The one in his fourth year, Mr. Weasley. I understand you’re the older twin. Sorry for the confusion. Now, can you all do this?”

They nodded their heads and went off looking for the two Gryffindors. “I wonder what this is all about?” Ophelia began to fear.

“Don’t worry, O. I’m sure it’s nothing.” Fred rubbed her back gently as they walked into the library, where they assumed Hermione would be.

Sure enough, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all pouring their energy over a stack of books about plants.  _ Gillyweed _ , Ophelia thought to herself. Hermione was shuddering at the side effect of someone's nostrils closing forever by a plant as they walked up to the group. “I wouldn’t mind. I think it would be an interesting talking point.” Fred joked as he leaned against the library shelf next to their table.

“What are you two doing in a library?” Hermione challenged.

“Looking for you lot.” George said.

The three younger students stared at each other, nervously. “Professor McGonagall needs Ron and Hermione. Not you, Harry.” Ophelia smiled at the green eyed boy.

“What do they want with them?” Harry asked.

“I dunno… she didn’t say.” Fred shrugged. “Now, come on. Let’s go.”

The group of students turned to leave when Ophelia grabbed Harry’s wrist. “Have you found anything?”

He shook his head. “Did you hear back from Sirius or Remus?”

Ophelia’s heart sank as she shook her head. “No… I’m sorry Harry. You can try the Bubble Charm like Cedric but I’m afraid you won’t be able to master it.”

“It’s worth a shot. Thanks, Ophelia.” He smiled sadly as she turned to catch up with the others who were out in the hallway now, waiting for the Hufflepuff girl. 

After they dropped off Hermione and Ron to Professor McGonagal’s office, they were told to go back to their common rooms since it was near curfew. George waved at Ophelia and Fred as he raced up the marble staircase to get to the Gryffindor common room. “I’ll walk you.” Her boyfriend smirked down at her with a wink. “Wouldn’t want any scary 7th years to come get you.”

“Oh, thank you. You’re my knight in shining armor.” She joked as he looped their fingers together and walked down to the kitchen area. “I’m so nervous for Harry.”

“I know. He’ll be okay. He’s a smart kid.” Fred tried comforting her by rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand but it wasn’t working. “I’ll walk with you to the stands tomorrow, I’ll meet you outside of the Great Hall. Sound good?”

“Yea, that sounds great, Freddie. Thank you.” She stood on the balls of her feet to kiss his lips while she stopped in front of the barrels of the entrance of the Hufflepuff common room. 

“Goodnight, O.” He whispered into her lips.

She sighed in peace. “Goodnight, Freddie.”

The next morning, she had bundled up in all of her warm clothing since the February winds were brutal. She put on a black knit hat that Mrs. Weasley had given her years ago as well as some matching gloves. When Ophelia finally made it out of breakfast, Fred was sure enough waiting for her with George and Lee. Grace took the opportunity to begin talking with Lee, she was starting to have a crush for the rambunctious Gryffindor. 

“I hope Harry found some Gillyweed.” Ophelia whispered to Fred.

“Why would he need Gillyweed?”

“He has to breathe underwater for an hour.” She gulped, trying to keep her nerves at bay by breathing in for four seconds, holding it for four seconds, and then breathing out for four seconds. “I’m never going to let myself be okay if he dies because I couldn’t help him.”

“Calm down, calm down. Let’s just wait and see what happens.” Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they found their way to the stands that were built around the Black Lake now instead of the dragons. 

She was so nervous that she breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw Harry stand next to Fleur. Ludo Bagman’s voice again filled the stands. “All of our chamipons are ready for the second task! They have an hour to recover what has been taken from them. The time will begin at the blow of my whistle. Ready, champions? Alright… 1… 2… 3!” A shrill whistle filled the stands and Fleur, Cedric, and Viktor all dove into the Black Lake.

Harry pulled a pouch out of his pocket and downed the contents. “He got the gillyweed!” She whispered to Fred in relief. “Oh my god, I didn’t kill Harry. Thank godric.”

After he clutched at the side of his neck in pain, he dove into the water, disappearing from view. The audience members in the stands waited now for a champion to appear. Ophelia was so anxious that her hands were shaking. Fred took them into his own and rubbed his thumb against her hands, to try and calm her down. 

The audience burst into loud applause when Cedric’s bronze hair popped up from the Black Lake while he clutched onto Cho Chang who was looking rather shaken up and startled. Ophelia was clapping loudly for her friend while her heart sank. “Oh my-- we brought Hermione and Ron to be brought to the bottom of the Black Lake!”

George looked at her with shock as he realized that she was right. “They aren’t going to die though, right? Like… if Harry can’t get them? They’ll be fine?”

Ophelia thought hard about what the song in the Golden Egg was. “When Cedric told me what the clue was he said…  _ Come seek us where our voices sound, We cannot sing above the ground, And while you're searching ponder this; We've taken what you'll sorely miss, An hour long you'll have to look, And to recover what we took, But past an hour, the prospect's black, Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.  _ It won’t come back… that can’t mean…”

Fred, George, and Ginny now were looking furiously at the Black Lake’s surface, waiting to see the bright red hair of their brother. The next person to break the water's surface was Fleur Delacaur, but she wasn’t accompanied by another person. She was crying and shouting out a French name, her sister. The judges had to basically pull her out of the water and have a medi-witch look at her to calm her down.

The next group to escape the water was Viktor Krum as he clutched Hermione’s arm. The Durmstrang boys burst into thunderous applause. “Come on, Harry…” Ophelia was muttering under her breath as they watched in horror as it seemed like no one would return.

His black hair broke the surface and Ophelia leaped up into the air, screaming for the Gryffindor boy. He was holding onto two bodies. Ron was waking up as well as Gabrielle, Fleur’s sister. Everyone in the crowd was shouting and screaming as Harry swam towards the judges stand with two people and not just one.

Percy Weasley helped Ron get pulled up onto the judges stand while Madam Pomfrey tended to Harry. Fleur was crying as she wrapped Gabrielle in a fluffy, light-blue towel. While the champions were getting medical attention, Professor Dumbledore was kneeling by the waters edge talking to the Chief of the Merpeople. 

When he stood up he enhanced his voice to boom throughout the stands. “Ladies and Gentlemen! The judges have reached a decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to ward marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows… Fleur Delavour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points. Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour, we therefore award him forty-seven points. Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points. Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However… Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points due to the time of his arrival to the judges stand.”

“Way to go, Harry!” The twins and Ophelia shouted over the crowd and clapped their hands furiously as the black-haired boy was blushing. This put Harry tied in first place with Cedric for the third task. She hoped that it would be enough to get him an advantage so that he could survive the final task of the Tournament. 

As the students wandered back to the castle, she said her goodbyes to the Gryffindors and gave Harry a huge hug telling him how proud she was of him. When Grace grabbed her wrist, they dashed down the staircase to the Hufflepuff common room. They stood on a coffee table and cheered, along with the rest of the house, as Cedric came bursting in through the door. “All hail, Diggory!” Ernie jokingly cheered out and everyone raised their glasses of hot chocolate or butter beer to toast to their Hogwarts Champion, Cedric. He was blushing across his face and he wrapped his friends into large hugs.

When he spotted Ophelia he gave her a huge smile and wrapped her tightly into his arms. “I would never have been able to do it without your help, O.”

“I’ll do anything for you, Ced. Always. Remember that.” She squeezed his hand tightly before he was whisked away by some other 6th and 7th year Hufflepuff boys. “Stay safe, Ced.” She whispered into her butterbeer before taking a long drag and joining Grace in dancing on the wooden table. 


	54. Chapter Fifty-Four: Turning Seventeen

**Chapter Fifty-Four: Turning Seventeen**

The next weekend at Hogsmeade landed the weekend just before the twins’ birthday. It was decided that the group of friends would celebrate at the Three Broomsticks. Jacob and Cedric told Ophelia that they would join her but they had a double date at Madam Puddifoot's tea shop with Cho and her friend. Grace was more than excited to join the Gryffindor party at the pub since she admitted to Ophelia that she had a crush on none other than Lee Jordan.

It was a beautiful weekend, the air smelled just like Honeydukes as they were pumping out new chocolates for the students who were wandering through the streets. Fred was holding onto Ophelia’s hand as they walked on the cobbled street, heading towards Zonko’s joke shop. She had a pocketful of galleons that she was excited to spend on Fred and George since they were turning 17 soon, an important age in the wizarding community. “I can’t wait until our products are more into a selling stage so that we can make more money than Zonko’s.” Fred said excitedly to his brother.

“I wonder if a shop in Hogsmeade would be beneficial once we have some money to open one up?”

“Diagon Alley I think would be better. No competition there, mate.” Fred winked as they walked into Zonko’s and were greeted warmly by the owner who knew that they would be spending lots of money on the joke and prank products. 

After they wandered through the many shelves that contained dungbombs, hiccough sweets, frog spawn soap, sugar quills, and so much more. Fred and George loaded up on more Filibuster Fireworks, dungbombs, and blast noise makers. When they carried their items up to the counter they tried protesting with the Hufflepuff girl as she refused to let them pay. “This is for your birthday! It’s not every day that my favorite Wizard’s turn 17.”

“17 you say?” The owner smiled fondly at them. “Well, have 17% off for my favorite customers.” He grinned widely and added in some insult quills into the bag that they contained their items. “Happy Birthday, boys.”

They thanked him as they walked back into the street of Hogsmeade to go into another shop. The trio decided to pop into the amazing smelling Honeydukes Sweetshop to pick up some candy. Ophelia burst into a large smile as she saw the brightly colored shelves of chocolate in neat rows, Fizzing Whizzbees, and sherbert balls. “Bright colors.” She said to Fred who was grabbing some exploding bonbons.

“What?” He looked at her like she had just hit her head with a bludger.

“Bright colors. Like Honeydukes. That’s what your shop should look like. You and George are so bright that your shop should shine just as bright.” She smiled as she picked up some fudge flies and put them in the little basket that hung on her elbow.

“What colors do you think represent us?” He went along as she wandered through the bright green shelves.

“Not green… these are… not you two. It can’t be Hogwarts related either, I think that would turn away other student customers.” She pursed her lips as she put in some Drooble’s Best Blowing Gum into the wicker basket and thought about the twins. “Maybe… orange obviously like the infamous Weasley hair and something else, since there are two of you. Now, normally blue looks good with orange but that’s a Ravenclaw color. Maybe purple? I like purple.”

“So purple for me and orange for George?” He smirked as she looked at a packet of chocolate frogs. “You know… that wouldn’t be that bad. I do like purple.” 

“It would be nice and bright to get young customers to come in. Perfect for a joke shop.” She put her wicker basket up on the bright green Honeydukes counter and nicked the candy that was in Fred’s hand to pay for it too.

After honeydukes, they went back into the Hogsmeade street to meet up with the others who were at the Three Broomsticks. Grace, Lee, and Angelina were already sitting in their favorite corner booth, waiting for the others to join them. The twins and Ophelia walked up to the bar in the smoky bar to wait for Madam Rosmerta to notice them and take their orders. When they did, Ophelia refused to let the boys pay again and purchased them all foamy Butterbeers and an extra pitcher to take over to the table. When she handed the drinks over she narrowed her eyes. “I don’t want any trouble today. Understood?”

“Of course, Madam Rosmerta. We wouldn’t want to get kicked out on our birthday!” Fred joked as he slid the tray of drinks into his arms as the group walked over to the wooden booth.

“Cheers to Fred and George!” Lee called out loudly as he raised his pewter cup of Butterbeer before everyone else joined in on the cheer before taking long drags of their drinks. 

“What are you hoping for your birthday, boys?” Grace asked as she wiped away some leftover foam from the top of her lip. “Anything special?”

“Well…” George began as he played with the rim of his cup. “We are hoping to get back something from one of our dad’s friends.”

She looked between the twins knowing that they were talking about getting their bet money back from the Quidditch World Cup. It had been months since they got scammed with the leprechaun gold. It was horrible to see her friends taken advantage of like that. “What will you boys do if you get the money back?” Angelina asked.

“Open up a joke shop.” Fred explained with his eyes dancing. “We don’t know where yet but we think it would be successful. We have been inventing products.”

“That’s brilliant!” Angelina cried as she put her hand on George’s shoulder which caused him to blush. “I bet you would both be amazing salesmen.”

The group turned into conversations about what they would idly find in a joke shop since they all had a variety of different personalities and interests. It helped the twins come up with some new ideas. For example, they were thinking of making a spell check quill which they got the idea from Ophelia, a day dream charm which Grace thought of, and a love potion that Angelina and Lee were joking about. 

When they had drained the pitcher and got refills, it was time to go back to the castle. Ophelie was leaning into Fred as they walked as she listened to him talk animatedly to Lee and George. When they made it through the grand entranceway, he steered her away from the others to the library corridor. “What are we doing here?” She giggled.

He smiled down at her as his hand opened back her favorite tapestry. “I just want some alone time for my birthday with my girlfriend. Is that too much to ask for?” 

She shook her head as she placed her hands against the stone ridge of the hidden window and began to push up. Ophelia let out a gasp of surprise as Fred’s arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her easily so she wouldn’t have to struggle to get into the nook. Then, he easily slid in next to her. He undid his pocket to reveal some Blue Raspberry sugar quills, her favorite flavor. “When did you get these?”

“I’ll never reveal my secrets.” He winked as Fred handed her one of the fragile quills.

She unwrapped it and began to lick the sugar quill with delight. “You’re amazing, Freddie. Did you know that?”

“You’ve mentioned it a couple of times.” He teased her as he poked her side and popped a quill of his own into his mouth. 

“How are you going to get a hold of Bagman to get the winnings back?” Ophelia asked as she scanned outside of the hidden window at the spring scene of the courtyard. “Hasn’t he been ignoring you all?”

“We are going to write him a letter demanding the money.”

“Freddie, that’s blackmail.” She groaned. “You boys could get in a lot of trouble for that.”

“Well, we’ve tried being nice and polite about it but he obviously isn’t responding to that. However, he knows that the Ministry wouldn’t like to hear about it all. Would you help us write it?” 

She sighed and turned her attention to him. He was giving her those puppy dog eyes that Fred knew made her weak. “I don’t want to get in trouble, Freddie.”

“You won’t get in trouble! It’s not like you’re signing your name to it. You’re just so good with words.” Fred put his hand on her knee and began to rub small circles. “Please? For me?”

“You’re the worst, Weasley.” Ophelia groaned and shook her head. “Yes… I’ll help you.”

He smiled and leaned into her to connect their lips. At the touch, she sighed with the fireworks that were going off in her stomach. Fred took the opportunity with her mouth open to suck on her lips and tease her with the tip of his tongue. It tasted like the Blue Raspberry sugar quills and him. It was her new favorite flavor. 

* * *

They had spent all day writing the perfect letter to send to Bagman and thankfully George was on her side about not sending it. “I’m just saying Fred that if we send it, it’s blackmail and we could get into trouble.”

“Yea but I bet you won’t be complaining if we finally get paid.” Fred argued back as they took the stairs to the Owlery, two at a time and listened to the echo of their footsteps carry through the stairway.

“Who are you writing to?” Harry asked as he was walking down the steps, obviously just leaving the Owlery.

“Sirius.” Ophelia lied. “You?”

“Oh… same. I just have to talk to him about what’s going on with the tournament and all.” Harry looked at his shoes. “He’s been helping me a lot. I hope that he can be freed soon so that we can be a family like he was saying.”

Ophelia smiled at the boy with messy black hair and grabbed his hand giving him a comforting squeeze. “I’m always here for you, Harry. If you ever need to talk. I hope that we all can be together soon.”

He awkwardly returned the squeeze before saying goodbye to the twins and Ophelia. “No time for a reunion, let’s go.” Fred argued as he grabbed onto Ophelia’s elbow and they began to run up the stairs again. “Can we borrow, Stella?”

She nodded and gave her owl a cracker as a treat as she swooped onto her readied arm. “Can you take a letter for us, Stella?”

Her owl hooted in response as she let George attach the letter to her leg before the twins took her to the opening of the Owlery and let her soar into the spring sky to take the blackmail letter to Ludo Bagman. “I hope this works.” Ophelia moaned. “This could end very badly.”

“Oh come on, Lupin. You worry too much.” Fred wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “By this time next week, I’m sure we will be galleons richer and be able to start Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.”

“I hope you’re right, Freddie.”


	55. Chapter Fifty-Five: The Final Task

**Chapter Fifty-Five: The Final Task**

Everyone in the castle was talking animatedly about the upcoming final task. Cedric was looking nervous, but confident as the day came of the final task. “At least you won’t be forced to rescue your girlfriend this time.” Jacob tried to get her friend to cheer up as they sat at the long Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall.

“Yea… it could be worse.” Cedric smiled slightly.

Just as Ophelia was about to try and cheer him up, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Diggory walked in through the Great Hall entrance. “Cedric, your parents are here!” She whispered to him over her bowl of soup.

They spotted the group of Hufflepuff’s and gave them a big smile before running over to their son and giving him a big hug. “The families were invited for the third task!” Mrs. Diggory explained as Cedric gave them tight embraces. “We are so excited to see how well you do. You’re tied for first? That’s amazing, Cedric. You’re making us so proud.”

“You’ve done fantastic, my boy.” Mr. Diggory smiled at his son as they all sat down to join the Hufflepuff’s at the table. “It’s been a while since I’ve eaten food here at this table.” He joked as he loaded his plate with food. 

Cedric looked like he had already won the Triwizard Tournament as his parents went on about how proud they were of him. She knew that this was what he worked so hard for, impressing them. She noticed that all of the champions had people near them. Bill and Mrs. Weasley were joining Harry at the Gryffindor table, serving as his family. She felt guilty for sitting over here with Cedric when she was telling Harry just a week ago that she was his family. However, she wasn’t informed that this was even happening and it would be rude to get up and go over to Harry now without explaining that her real father was Sirius to the other Hufflepuff’s. 

Instead, she sat and smiled with the Diggories as they pumped up Cedric for the third task. “You’re going to do amazing, Cedric.” Ophelia and Grace promised him as it was time to move to the stands. 

They sat in the sea of Hogwarts students and saw a maze of hedges in front of them. That must be what the third task was, a maze that the champions would have to maneuver. She shivered at the thoughts of what lay within the hedges. Professor Dumbledore stood in the front of the crowd once the Champions families were seated in the front row. Ophelia smiled as Fred and George slank into the spot next to her and Grace. Everyone quieted down when Dumbledore began an announcement. “The third and final task of the tournament will be the Triwizard Maze! Alastor Moody has hidden the Goblet of Fire within the maze. The first champion to the Cup wins! In the maze, you'll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead, you'll face something even more challenging. People change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can. But be very wary, you could just lose yourselves along the way. Now… at the sound of the cannon our first place champions will be able to enter the maze and begin their search for the Goblet!”

Filch set off a loud cannon and the stands filled with cheers of the students and families and music from the band as they played the Hogwarts March. Cedric and Harry both looked back to the stands one last time before stepping into the hedge, and disappearing from the view of the crowd.

Since Krum was second, after Cedric and Harry got their head start, he was allowed to enter into the magical hedge as well. Fleur was the last one to be able to enter and she was looking rather nervous before the hedge closed in behind her. After about twenty minutes, there were brightly colored sparks that were shot in the air to signal that a Professor needed to go in and rescue one of the champions. Ophelia’s heart sank. “Please don’t be Harry or Cedric… Please don’t be Harry or Cedric…” she was whispering frantically under her breath.

Soon, Fleur Delacuer is rescued from the hedges looking rather frantic and was given a Calming Potion by Professor Snape. “The Beauxbatons Champion, Fleur Delacuer, had fallen from an obstacle within the maze. She will be eliminated from the Task.” Ludo Bagman announced to the stands and the boys and girls from the French school all began to boo. 

Ophelia felt guilty for how relieved she was that Cedric or Harry weren’t hurt. It was short lived since after about another ten minutes or so, more red sparks were sent into the sky. This time, Viktor Krum came out stunned. “The Durmstrang Champion, Viktor Krum, was stunned by another competitor and has been eliminated from the Task.”

The Slytherins and Durmstrang students all began to boo as Viktor was being treated by Madam Pomfrey. “That means a Hogwarts Champion is going to win!” Grace cheered.

After the band grew louder, with the knowledge that either Cedric or Harry were going to bring in a win for Hogwarts, the crowd was growing rambunctious. “Hogwarts! Hogwarts! Hogwarts!” The students were all cheering loudly, waiting for the arrival or either Harry or Cedric to come crashing through the hedges. 

It seemed like forever before the boys came crashing into the grassy area in front of the stands as they were both clutching the bright blue Goblet of Fire. “They both won!” Ophelia cheered out in glee as the band began to play the Hogwarts March very loudly. She felt Grace grab her wrist and they began to run onto the grassy area, storming the field with the other Hufflepuff and Gryffindors to celebrate with their champions. 

Fleur’s scream filled the stands from the grassy area over the bright sound of the cheerful music that was playing. Dumbledore was silencing the band and rushing over to Harry and Cedric. What could be wrong? What was going on?

Ophelia began craning her neck to get a better view of what was going on, ignoring Fred as he tried to get her to stay away. When she got a better view of her two friends her heart sank deep into her stomach. Cedric was staring with dead eyes. He was… no. It couldn’t be.

Her worst suspicion was answered when Amos Diggory was pushing through the ministry officials and screaming. “That’s my son! Get out of the way!”

She felt her legs give out and she crumpled in the grass. Cedric couldn’t be… no… it was… unthinkable…

Harry was clutching Cedric’s body and wailing as he talked to Dumbledore and the Ministry officials. Was Cedric… dead? “He’s back! Voldemort is back! Cedric asked me to take his body back, I had to do it. I couldn’t stop him. Voldemort killed him!” Harry was screaming at Fudge and Dumbledore as they leaned over the two boys. 

The thought made her feel nauseous and she leaned over to get away from some others and threw up into the grass. There were hands on her back, rubbing comforting circles and she saw Mrs. Weasley gave her a worried look. “I’m here, dear.”

Fred was by her side in an instant too as he looked at her. “What can I do?”

“Where’s Grace? She’s probably hurting too.”

“She sort of passed out.” Fred muttered as he glanced back. “Lee’s taking care of her now. I’m worried about you.”

“I don’t know what to say, Freddie.” She began to bawl as the guilt filled in her chest. She should’ve been there for Cedric. This was somehow her fault in her mind. She didn’t help him prepare enough, she shouldn’t have let him enter his name into this stupid tournament.

Thoughts of Cedric filled her mind as she looked up and saw Mr. and Mrs. Diggory weeping over his body and his blank eyes stared without light in his eyes up to the night sky. Instead of his dead eyes, she saw images fill her mind of his twinkling eyes at Quidditch practice, him wrapping her in a warm hug, and their shared hot chocolates in the kitchens after curfew as they laughed by a warm fire. 

He was gone.

Just like how he brought her happiness, it felt like he stole a chunk of her with him as she listened to Mr. and Mrs. Diggory’s sobs fill the stands. She caught a glance of Jacob and Ernie and they also had sunk into the grass. They were staring at the unthinkable sight of Cedric Diggory being gone.

How come the world hasn't stopped? Time should have frozen. It seemed impossible that her best friend, her potions partner, her Quidditch captain, her first kiss and boyfriend, was lying dead in front of her. This was a nightmare and she desperately needed to wake up. 

She cried and cried, clutching at Fred and Mrs. Weasley as the Ministry officials peeled off Cedric’s parents and took them into a more private space. Ophelia felt that empty feeling that she got when her father went off with Sirius over the Summer fill her chest again. Although this time it was accompanied by pain and suffering.

Ophelia thought of the other champion, Harry. A sisterly instinct kicked in as she thought of her promise to him that they would be family. “Where’s Harry? I don’t see him? Where’s Harry?” She wiped away the tears and looked around frantically. “Harry’s missing, Mrs. Weasley!”

The matriarch of the Weasley family looked around and her face paled. “I will get Dumbledore.”

She was running off to find the headmaster as Ophelia tried to focus on her breathing as the world began to spin rapidly around her. “Ophelia! Ophelia! Breathe!” Fred was trying to shout at her but it sounded like he was underwater. The world went black.

When the world became clear again, she observed her surroundings and noticed the pristine hospital wing. She must’ve passed out again from a panic attack. “She’s up.” Fred whispered to his mother as they leaned over her figure on the hospital bed.

“Ophelia, dear. How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright.” She mumbled and had Fred help her sit up. “Harry--”

“He’s here. He was just brought her a moment ago.” She gestured to the figure of the sleeping champion right next to her. 

Everyone tensed as they heard shouting coming from beyond the hospital wing doors. “They’re going to wake up Harry if they go on like this.” Bill Weasley clipped as he messed with the wand in his hands, clearly not wanting to relax with all that has happened this evening.

Mrs. Weasley fixed a cup of water for Ophelia and sighed. “What are they shouting about? Nothing else can have happened, can it?”

“Who’s shouting?” Harry jostled in his sleep and sat up. 

The hospital wing doors burst open. Professor McGonagall and Snape were hot on Cornelius Fudge’s heels as he stormed over to Harry Potter. “Where’s Dumbledore?”

“He’s not here.” Mrs. Weasley snipped as she crossed her arms and stood in front of the hospital bed. “This is a hospital wing. Minister, don’t you think you’d do better to--”

The door opened and Dumbledore came sweeping up in his billowing robes with a black dog hot on his heels,  _ Sirius _ . “What has happened? Why are you disturbing these people?”

Professor Snape sneered at the Minister of Magic, “When we told Mr. Fudge that we had caught the death eater responsible for tonight’s events he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him into the castle. He brought it up to the office where Barty Crouch--”

Professor McGonagall was furious and finished Snape’s train of thought. “The moment that thing entered the room, it swooped down on Crouch and--”

Ophelia sank deeper into her hospital bed.  _ The dementors kiss… _

Fudge shook his head. “I don’t want to hear anymore of this nonsense about death eaters and You-Know-Who returning. Crouch may have believed himself to be acting upon You-Know-Who’s orders but to take the word of a lunatic like that… I need to question the boy on what he has seen tonight.”

“I will not allow you to do that tonight. Let him rest.” Dumbledore stepped in front of Mrs. Weasely who was guarding Harry. 

In the silence, tension was growing. Sirius was growling at the Minister with his hackles raised as he bared his teeth. The Minister began to slowly back up. “You’re insane…”

As the Minister left the hospital wing, Dumbledor turned to Madame Pomfrey and asked her to go to Professor Sprout's office to check on the Diggory’s. She nodded and walked quickly out of the hospital wing. “It is time for two of our numbers to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius… if you could resume your usual form.” 

The dog transformed back into his human form and Snape was staring at him with fury and horror. “What is he doing here?”

Dumbeldore stood in between the two. “He is here at my invitation, as are you, Serverus. I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other. I will settle, in the short term, for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. Time is short, and unless the few of us who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us.” 

The two men were still glaring at each other but they shook each other hands rather quickly before returning their arms to their side. Sirius crossed over to sit in a chair in between Harry and Ophelia’s hospital beds, still glaring at Snape. 

Dumbledore nodded. “Now I have work for each of you. Fudge’s attitude, though not unexpected, changes everything. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. You are to alert Remus, Arabella, Mundunugs-- all of the old crowd. Lie low at headquarter’s for a while; I will contact you there.”

Harry looked frantically at his godfather. “No--”

Sirius smiled at the boy. “You’ll see me very soon, Harry. I promise you. But I must do what I can, you understand, don’t you?”

Harry nodded sadly. “Yes. Of course.”

Sirius turned to Ophelia. “We will come and find you soon, too. You need to take care of yourself. Stay safe, Ophelia.” He gave her hand a squeeze and kissed the top of her forehead. “Promise me, for Remus and I. You’ll take care of yourself until we can come get you.”

“We’ll be together?” She felt her chest fill with hope of being with a family she could call her own soon.

“Promise.”

She smiled and returned the squeeze of his hand before he dropped it and returned to his form of a black dog and ran the length of the room to the door. Dumbledore took the attention back as he crossed over to Professor Snape. “You know what I must ask you to do. If you are ready… if you are prepared…”

“I am.” Snape said.

“Then good luck.” Dumbledore nodded as the Potions professor swooped out of the room without a word to the others. “I must go downstairs. I must see the Diggory’s. Harry-- take the rest of your potion. I will see all of you later.”

As the headmaster swooped out of the room, Mrs. Weasley tried to get Harry to take the rest of his Sleeping Draught. “I don’t want to take it!”

“Harry…” Ophelia began in a calm voice. “I’ll take mine if you take yours.” She held up the chalice that contained the Calming Draught that Madam Pomfrey had left for her. “We are a team, remember. You aren’t on your own.”

He sighed in defeat and downed the potion as Ophelia did the same. “Goodnight, Harry.” She whispered as his green eyes disappeared as his heavy eyelids fluttered shut. 


	56. Chapter Fifty-Six: The Beginning of the End

**Chapter Fifty-Six: The Beginning of the End**

The end of the year feast was not decorated like normally. Instead of the winning house colors hanging from the Great Hall ledges, the drapes were drawn and all the banners were pitch black. Up at the staff table, Dumbledore cleared his throat. “The end of another year.” The headmaster looked at the table with students in canary-yellow trimmed robes with sad eyes. The normal cheerful Hufflepuff house had been subdued and quiet since the third task and the loss of a great and wonderful housemate and friend. “There is much that I would like to say to you all tonight but I must first acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who should be sitting here,” he gestured to the Hufflepuff table as Grace gripped Ophelia’s hand and they let out silent tears roll down their cheeks. “I would like you all, please, to stand, and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory.”

Ophelia let out a whimper as she pushed herself up from the bench and grabbed her golden goblet of pumpkin juice and raised in the air with the rest of the school as they all said in a unison voice, “Cedric Diggory.” Her shoulders were shaking from tears as Jacob helped her and Grace sit back down. 

“Cedric was a person who exemplified many of the qualities that distinguish Hufflepuff House. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker, he valued fair play. His death has affected you all, whether you knew him well or not. I think that you have the right, therefore, to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort.”

Ophelia flinched at the name of You-Know-Who. The Great Hall was filled with horror filled faces and glances at each other as if they weren’t sure exactly what their headmaster had said. “The Ministry of Magic, does not wish me to tell you this. It is possible that some of your parents will be horrified that I have done so-- either because they will not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned, or because they think I should not tell you so, young as you are. It is my belief, however, that the truth is generally preferable to lies, and that any attempt to pretend that Cedric died as the result of an accident, or some sort of blunder of his own, is an insult at his memory.” 

Jacob let out a sniffle and Ophelia leaned her head on his shoulder. They all knew that Cedric was the best among them and he would’ve never lost his life if it wasn’t for an extremely powerful and dark wizard. Dumbledore continued with his speech, “There is somebody else who must be mentioned in connection with Cedric’s death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter. He managed to escape Lord Voldemort. He risked his own life to return Cedric’s body to Hogwarts. He showed, in every respect, the sort of bravery that few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this, I honor him. To Harry!” He held up his goblet and led the students to toasting to Harry as well.

Ophelia could see that at the Slytherin table, Pucey, Montague, and Flint refused to touch their goblets in defiance of the toast to the brave Gryffindor boy. It filled her chest with rage. “The Triwizard Tournament’s aim was to further and promote magical understanding. In the light of what has happened-- of Lord Voldemort’s return-- such ties are more important than ever before. Every guest in this Hall will be welcomed back here at any time, should they wish to come. I say to you all, once again-- in the light of Lord Voldemort’s return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open. Many of you in this Hall have already suffered directly at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Many of your families have been torn asunder.” She let out a small sob thinking of her mother and father and Neville’s parents all destroyed families from Voldemort’s followers. “A week ago, a student was taken from our midst. Remember Cedric. Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy.” 

Ophelia went throughout the rest of the night in a daze. It was horrible being in the Hufflepuff common room since all her friends could think about was that Cedric should’ve been with them. 

When it was time to go back to the Hogwarts Express, she stood next to the twins as they helped her with her trunk and Stella’s cage. They were standing next to Harry, Ron, and Hermioen who were all trying to also carry their own trunks to the carriages. “‘Arry!” Fleur Delacour was hurrying over to the group as she held her silk shawl over her thin shoulders. “We will see each buzzer again, I ‘ope.” She shook his hand. “I am ‘oping to get a job ‘ere, to improve my Eenglish.”

Ron blushed and got out in a strangled voice, “It’s very good already.”

Fleur smiled at him and curtsied slightly in a form of thanks. “Good-bye, ‘Arry. It ‘az been a pleasure meeting you!”

When they made it onto the train to take them back to King’s Cross, the weather was marvelous, it did not reflect the feeling of loss and sadness that Ophelia was going through. Fred and George were trying to cheer up Ophelia as Lee and Angelina were trying to do the same for Grace. “I think I just want to check on, Harry. See how he’s holding up.” She sighed and stood up.

“We’ll come with you.” George said as he smiled at her. 

They began to walk down to the compartment that they noticed the Golden Trio go into. She froze for a moment as she saw Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy screaming in the doorway. They caught the end of Draco’s threats. “Too late now, Potter! They’ll be the first to go, now the Dark Lord’s back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well-- second-- DIggory for the fi--”

It was as thought someone had exploded a box of fireworks within the compartment. So many spells and jinxes were blasted and a bunch of deafening bangs filled the air. Ophelia let out a small gasp as she noticed that herself, Fred, and George all had the seemed to have the same idea to blast at the boys. The Slytherin boys were lying in a heap on the floor, unconscious. 

“Thought we’d see what those three were up to.” Fred kicked Goyle out of the way and stepped over them followed by George and Ophelia. 

“Interesting effect. Who used the Furnunculus Curse?” George asked as he looked down at Crabbe.

“I did.” Harry huffed.

“Odd. I used Jelly-Legs. Looks as though those two shouldn’t be mixed. He seems to have sprouted little tentacles all over his face. Well, let’s not leave them here, they don’t add much to the decor.” George chuckled as the four boys in the compartment kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Slytherins out of the compartment. 

Once they were done, Ophelia sat down next to Harry as Fred asked if anyone wanted to play Exploding Snap. They began to play like they do at the Burrow where the loser gives up their spot for someone else to play. “How are you holding up, Harry?”

“I dunno. You?”

“I don’t know, either. I feel-- lost.” She admitted as she saw Hermione huff in disappointment as George beat her in a hand. “Cedric has been--er-- was one of my best friends since first year.”

“I’m sorry, O.” He put a hand on her own. “Genuinely. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you.”

“I know. I want you to know I’m here for you too.” She smiled at Harry as Ron complained that the twins were cheating. “Speaking of, who were you two blackmailing?”

George shook his head. “Oh… that.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Fred shook his head impatiently. “It wasn’t anything important. Not now, anyway.”

“We’ve given up.” They said in unison. 

“Ludo Bagman.” Ophelia said in a low voice.

Fred looked up and shook his head angrily. “You remember that bet we had with him at the Quidditch World Cup? About how Ireland would win, but Krum would get the Snitch? Well, the git paid us in leprechaun gold he’d caught from the Irish mascots.”

“It vanished in the morning.” George laughed bitterly. 

“He refused to give them their money back.” Ophelia bit her cheek, feeling horribly for her friends. “Their entire life savings.”

By the end of filling in the younger Gryffindors what had been going on that year, they made it to Platform 9 and ¾. The usual confusion and noise filled the corridors of the Hogwarts Express as students unloaded from their compartments to get onto the Platform. “Hey, Ophelia, Fred, George-- wait a moment.” Harry called after them. 

When Hermione and Ron left, the boy with the wild black hair opened his trunk and took out a large bag that clunk like it was filled with gold galleons. “Take it.”

“What?” Fred asked, looking flabbergasted at the younger Gryffindor boy.

“Take it. I don’t want it.” Harry insisted.

Ophelia opened her mouth in awe at Harry. George shook his head as he opened the bag and saw all the galleons that Harry had won. “You’re mental!”

“No, I’m not. You take it, and get inventing. It’s for the joke shop.” He insisted as he closed his trunk and smiled at the twins.

“He  _ is _ mental!” Fred said in an awe filled voice.

“Listen. If you don’t take it, I’m throwing it down the drain. I don’t want it and I don’t need it. But I could do with a few laughs. I think we all could and I’ve got a bad feeling that soon enough we’re all going to need them more than usual before long with everything that is happening.” The Chosen One crossed his arms. “Now take the money.”

“Harry…” George shook his head. “This is too much. There has got be a thousand Galleons in here!”

“Yea. Think of how many Canary Creams that is.”

The twins just stared at him in return.

“Just don’t tell your mum where you got it… although she might not be so keen for you to join the Ministry anymore, come to think of it…”

“Harry…” Fred tried arguing with him again.

He pulled out his wand. “If you don’t take it I’ll hex you! I know some good ones now. Just do me one favor, okay? Buy Ron some different dress robes and say they’re from you.” He glanced his green eyes over Ophelia and smiled. “Buy your girlfriend some flowers, too, Fred.”

The four of them exited the Hogwarts Express and went over to where the Weasley’s were standing near the Dursely’s. “Write to me, Harry. Will you? I’ll make sure that whenever Sirius and Remus take me in, I fight to have them get you away from that fake family of yours.” Ophelia wrapped him in a tight hug. “Stay fighting. Stay strong.”

“You too, O. I know it’ll be hard, but you can do it.” Harry smiled as they let go and he walked over to his aunt and uncle with his trunk in his hand. “Bye! I’ll see you later!” 


	57. Chapter Fifty-Seven: Grimmauld Place

**Chapter Fifty-Seven: Grimmauld Place**

It turned out, Ophelia didn’t have to wait very long to find out where Sirius had gone. After only spending a week at the Burrow, they received a visit from Professor Dumbledore that it was time to move the family to the headquarters of the Order of Phoenix. Mrs. Weasley was frantic as she was waving her wand around the house, packing up knick-knacks and her knitting items. She was rushing all of the children to pack up all of their things immediately. 

They took a portkey to a muggle street. “What are we doing here?” Fred complained while Dumbledore merely looked at them with his twinkling eyes.

“The headquarters of the Order of Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place in London.” Professor Dumbledore said in his magical voice. 

Suddenly, amongst the houses, a new one was emerging from hiding with the number 12 on the black door. “Come on, inside. You’ll find some familiar faces within the mysterious walls.”

“Will you be joining us, Dumbledore?” Mr. Weasley asked as his family began to walk inside the dirty, old door.

“After dinner for a meeting, I’m rounding the others.” He smiled at them as he disapparated away with a loud CRACK from the street.

The group walked up the stone steps, staring at the newly materialized door. The black paint was shabby and scratched. The silver door knocker was in the form of a twisted serpent but there was no keyhole or letterbox. Before they could touch the doorknob, it swung open revealing her father's scared face standing there, smiling. “Ophelia!”

She threw herself into his arms as she wrapped her one around his neck. “I’ve missed you so much, dad!” She cried into his shoulder. “So much happened this year.” 

“I know, dear. I know.” He took her trunk and waved his wand, sending it up to one of the rooms in the headquarters of the Order of Phoenix. “We have much to tell you.”

“We?” She looked behind him and saw her own blue eyes twinkle at her. Sirius Black. 

Sirius Black walked up to her and gave her a tight hug. “You look much better now than you did after the tournament. How’s Harry?”

“I think okay. I reminded him that he has me.” 

“You’re a good girl, Ophelia. You remind me so much of your mother. Marlene was like that as well with the people she loved.” He smiled and led her up the stairs. “We will show you to your room.”

“What about us?” Ginny asked from the entranceway.

“Pick a room that isn’t filled with knick-knacks. There are plenty.” Sirius smiled before turning his attention back to the Hufflepuff girl. “How has Summer been so far?”

“Okay. I haven’t been doing much, just trying not to get like I did… bad again. Cedric--” she faltered at his name and tried to focus on her breathing as tears swam in her eyes.

“Ophelia. Breathe in for four seconds… come on… with me.” Her dad's face was in front of her, stopping the world from spinning around her. “Good-- now hold in for four seconds… now breathe out for four seconds…”

She followed the steps and was able to stop her heart from racing. “Sorry… I was saying he wouldn’t want me to stop living my life because he’s gone. He would be really mad at me if he saw me moping.” 

Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance. “Have you had any attack recently since the hospital wing, Ophelia?” 

She shook her head. “No.”

“We will have to document it, keep track of them.” Her dad’s scarred face was filled with worry as he was jotting down the information on a small notebook. “Just so we can make sure you are staying well. It isn’t wise for you to go see your Healer anymore at St. Mugo’s.” 

“Why not?” She asked as she waved her wand and sent the dust away in the room that they had walked to.

“The Ministry controls the hospital and unfortunately the Ministry isn’t safe anymore.” Her dad said as he sat down on the foot of the bed. “Professor Dumbledore promised us that we would get you any potion that you may need if things get bad.”

“Did anyone else in our family get panic attacks?” She looked at Sirius Black.

“Your Aunt Andromeda used to get them when it came to taking tests. Nastily bad in her final years at Hogwarts when she was studying privately with Professor Dumbledore.” 

“Could I see a picture of her?” Ophelia wrung her hands together in her lap. 

Sirius waved his wand and a large picture book flew into his hands. “This was my brother’s. He hid it from my mother so there are still pictures of me and Andromeda in it.” He sat down next to her and opened the book up to a picture that looked like it was taken at a Christmas party since there were 5 well-dressed children sitting in front of a decorated Christmas tree. 

She noticed that there were three teenage girls sitting in front and two teenage boys standing in the windows of their chairs. All of them had black hair and high cheekbones. She thought she was looking in a mirror at the girl in the middle who had piercing blue eyes, high cheekbones, and curly black hair. The only difference was it looked like Ophelia had thicker eyebrows and fuller lips. “Andromeda?” She asked as her finger pointed to the girl who looked like her.

“Yes. To her right is my cousin Narcissa and to her left is Bellatrix.” Narcissa had blonde streaks dyed in her straitened hair and was smirking at the camera with painted lips and a large engagement ring on her finger. Bellatrix Lestrange was smirking as well with a burgundy colored lipstick on her own lips and a wedding band on her finger. “My brother and I were the younger ones in the family. That is Regulus and then there is me. This was taken at the last Christmas I was invited to before I ran away to the Potter’s. Andromeda was my favorite, she married a muggle named Ted and had a daughter, Nymphadora. She’s in the Order--”

“I know who Nymphadora is. She doesn’t like going by that.” Ophelia said as she flipped through the scrapbook, looking at pictures of her family at various holidays or at Hogwarts. There was a picture of Andromeda shaking hands with a younger Dumbledore. She was wearing a pristine Slytherin uniform and Ophelia shuddered thinking of the Sorting Hat trying to place her in the house of Snakes years ago. 

“She’ll be here tonight.” Her dad explained as he grabbed another set of photos from a bag. “We found these while we were talking to some old friends and getting the Order back together.”

She held onto the new photos and let out a small gasp. In the moving pictures she saw her mother Marlene smiling and joking around with Lily Potter. The two girls were in denim jackets and Lily placed her hand on Marlene’s stomach with a shocked face on her face. There was a script on the bottom that said: _March 1977, Marlene announces that there will be a little Gryffindor sometime in October_. “Sorry to disappoint, Mum. Hufflepuff instead.” Ophelia wiped away a little tear as she stared in awe at the moving picture watching the look of joy on her mothers face as she told her best friend the news that she was pregnant. 

Another picture showed a picture of Sirius and Remus holding a baby in their hands. The two looked so young, just graduated out of Hogwarts and they looked like the baby was a bomb waiting to explode in their hands. The title was, _October 1977: Remus first time holding baby Ophelia._ The next photo was a picture of a baby and a toddler looking through baby books together and giggling on a woven rug. The title underneath the picture read, _October 1980 Harry joins Ophelia at her 3rd Birthday._ She smiled at the photo. “Can I keep these?”

“They’re yours, dear.” Sirius Black smiled and looked at her dad. “We will leave you some time… we have to go talk to Arthur and Molly. When you are ready, join us downstairs.”

After she got her things settled in and hung up her photos on the wall, including the new ones of her mother, she decided it was time to join the others downstairs. Ophelia changed her clothes since she had been cleaning and the ones she came in were all dusty now. She threw on her old Quidditch jumper and a pair of black jeans. When she rounded the banister and went in the kitchen where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were talking with her dad, Sirius, and Tonks, they all froze at her entrance. “What is she doing in here?” Mrs. Weasley asked. “I’m sorry dear but dinner isn’t ready yet.”

“Oh… I was told to come downstairs.” She froze in the doorway, unsure what to do as she shot a glance towards Sirius and Remus.

“Now isn’t a good time, Ophelia.” Tonks said with a stressed smile on her face. “We’ll come talk in a bit!”

“You’re just too young, dear. We have begun to talk about things with the Order or Phoenix.” Mrs. Weasley gave a small smile.

“I’m 17, I’m an adult, why can’t I be here?” She demanded and crossed her arms over her Huflfepuff quidditch logo on her chest. 

Her father shook his head. “They do have a point. You’re still in school.”

She turned her blue eyes to the pair that matched her own, calculating. Ophelia wanted to be in this meeting. She wanted to know what was going on that was so secretive. She bit the inner corner of her cheek as she eyed down notorious, Sirius Black. She didn't feel like a Hufflepuff in that moment. She felt like a Slytherin as she knew what she had to say to get the information she wanted. “You’re supposed to be my dad too. Care to decide if I can stay here or not?”

Sirius looked like he was taken off guard. She never referred to him as her dad, despite him being her biological father. It made Remus turn red in the face as he looked between his significant other and the girl he raised who was standing definitely in the middle of the kitchen, not moving. “Is that what you want? To be included?”

She felt her heartbeat faster. “Yes. I want information.”

“Well, you can’t be a full member. Remus is right, you’re still in school. However, I think you should be able to know what’s going on. Didn’t you express interest in becoming a Healer? You can use your knowledge to help us if anyone is harmed on missions I suppose.” He smiled at her and waved his wand, sending the chair next to him back so she could join them. "This will be good since St. Mungo's is is currently controlled by the ministry."

“Sirius.” Her father Remus looked furious. “I understand, you are trying to make amends but this is inappropriate. She’s too young.”

“Remus. We can talk about it later, I think Tonks was just in the middle of a report.” Sirius winked at Ophelia as he passed her a Butterbeer and motioned for the Order member to continue.

Tonks looked different than the last time she saw her at Hogwarts. She was older now, an Auror for the ministry. She was looking hesitantly between Ophelia, Sirius, and Remus before she cleared her throat and began. “As I was saying, Dumbledore is having us tail Harry to keep an eye on him. We are organizing a schedule so that no one is too tired and everyone's on their A game while we are looking out for him. Dementors have escaped Azkaban and have been seen trying to get close to Privet Drive. Obviously, we have kept them at bay.”

“Dementors?” Mrs. Weasley let out a gasp. “But I thought the ministry had control over them.”

“Apparently some of them are siding with You-Know-Who.” Tonks clipped. “I better be off, I have to go visit my parents before the meeting tonight. I’ll catch you all later.” She got up and walked out of the room.

When she left, the door swung open and the Weasley children came in. “No fair, Ophelia gets to be in the meetings?” Fred declared as he pointed towards Ophelia’s spot next to Sirius. “What did you find out?”

“No! Absolutely not! Just because Sirius has had a severe lack of judgement does not mean--” Mrs. Weasley began but was interrupted by her dad Sirius standing up abruptly from his chair.

“Do not talk to me about lack of judgement, Molly. I was 17 when I joined the Order. It is Ophelia’s right to know what is going on.”

Mr. Weasley stood in between Sirius and Molly who were both fuming and breathing heavily. “Let’s all just take a step back and calm down. The tensions are high since everything is happening so fast. Come on, Molly. Let’s go get our things set up.” He tugged his wife out of the kitchen and towards the room that they had set their belongings from the Burrow in. 

Her father Remus was shaking his head. “I don’t agree with you being in these meetings, Ophelia. That wasn’t okay for you to make that decision, Sirius. If we are to be a family, we need to talk about these things.” He walked out of the room and Sirius walked after him calling his name to try and get him to stop and talk to him. 

“Wicked. You’re a part of the Order now?” George asked as he sat down and poured himself a glass of Butterbeer. “What did you learn?”

“Not much. Just that they’re watching Harry. I don’t think I’m a part of the Order. I think Sirius is just letting me listen and patch people up if needed.” She took a drag of the foamy Butterbeer and wiped off the top of her lip. “Although, I will let you know if I learn anything else.”

Ginny shook her head. “It’s just not fair… you have such cool parents.”

“I think Sirius just let me stay here because he feels guilty that he wasn’t in my life for most of it.” She picked at the glass and stared at the bubbles on the top of the liquid. “I think it’s guilt that let me stay in the meeting.” 

“You still are in them. More to say than us.” Fred said in an annoyed voice. “Although, perhaps this summer, mum will be so distracted she won’t notice us coming up with new inventions for Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Show me what you have ready so far? I’ll help you test things out.” Ophelia stood up and put her hands in her back pocket. “Let’s go!” 


	58. Chapter Fifty-Eight: Potions Master

**Chapter Fifty-Eight: Potions Master**

That night, during the Order of Phoenix meeting, Mrs. Weasley cast a Muffliato charm on the door so that the other children in the house could not listen in. Sirius grabbed Ophelia’s shoulders and told her to sit in the corner and not say a word if she wanted to sit in on the meeting. She sat on a old stool in the corner and felt someone sit next to her, Tonks. Her old Hufflepuff classmate smiled at her. “Long time, no see, Lupin… or should I say Black.”

“Did you know? I look just like your mum when she was my age.”

“Your dad would bring you around occasionally. I don’t remember much of it because I was only 8. I was sworn not to tell you by my mother. Not many people knew who your real dad was but yes my parents and myself were some of those special people.” The pink-haired Order member smiled and wrapped her into a tight embrace. “I’m glad you’re okay, cousin.”

Her heart soared at the word cousin. It was evidence that she indeed had a family. 

Dumbledore’s entrance into the room caused all the talk to stop. “Ophelia… you’re joining us?”

She nodded and glanced unsure at her fathers who were looking at her, Remus was furious and Sirius was giving her an encouraging smile. “Yes, Professor. I’m not allowed to fight but I would like to offer my Healing services if needed.”

He seemed to consider this and smiled. “Excellent. Let’s begin-- Alastor, mission report?”

Mad-Eye Moody clunked over to the front of the room with his wooden and leg and began a full report on the Ministry officials, the death eaters, dementors, movement in the giant community, and Harry. It was so much information to take in after the hour long meeting that Ophelia thought her head was reeling. 

As the meeting was called to a close, Dumbledore stopped her before she could leave. “I understand that your friends are not allowed in this room for our meetings. I hope that you keep discretion and don’t talk about what is going on in between these walls with them.” She nodded once and he smiled. “Mind I talk to you for a moment about your future as a Healer?”

Ophelia’s heart raced. “Of-of course, sir.”

“Severus--” Dumbledore called as Professor Snape was about to leave the room. “Would you mind staying and talking with us?”

Snape looked apprehensively between Ophelia and Professor Dumbledore. Her fathers were standing behind her now. “If he’s staying in here with our daughter, we are staying in here too.” Sirius Black snarled and stared at her Potions professor with pure hatred in his eyes.

“No need for hostility, Sirius. He will be useful for Ophelia since she cannot train at the Ministry after her graduation.” Dumbledore said as the group sat down.

“Wait, why not? I need to go to the Ministry to get my certification in Healing. Otherwise, I will not be able to get a job--”

“It’s not safe as I'm sure you've heard about already. St. Mungo's is controlled by the ministry who is being run by people who are afraid to admit the truth and some who know the truth and are working for Voldemort.” Dumbledore said. “Fortunately, Severus is a Potions master and can give you training on how to make the essential potions that you would have learned about if you did go to those after graduation training. Madam Pomfrey will be informed that you will be shadowing her for a private study this year at Hogwarts and she will show you the hands on things that you will need to know about to become a Healer. I’m afraid, until Lord Voldemort is defeated, it will be far too dangerous for you to work in the ministry or at St. Mugo’s being who you are.” 

“When would you like me to begin training, Ophelia?” Professor Snape turned to the headmaster with a bored look on his face. “On top of everything else that you are asking of me.”

“Once a week this summer should be fine. Perhaps before Order Meetings?” Dumbledore played with his beard. “You could also begin by giving her a list of readings that would be essential for her to go over. I’ve heard that Ophelia is a very studious student from her head of house and I’m sure she will take this challenge head on to become such an essential Healer for the Order.” 

“Y-Y-Yes, Professor. I’ll do anything for the Order.” She straightened up a little as her headmaster gave her an appraising nod. 

“I’m sure you would, Ophelia. Let’s begin with filling your head with Healing knowledge for if it comes to it, we need to patch up any Order member.” Professor Dumbledore smiled as Professor Snape scribbled down a list of Potions books that she would need to read about. “Lovely day when we begin to pass the torch of knowledge onto our students, isn’t it, Severus?”

Her Potions professor merely muttered something under his breath before turning on his heels and leaving the room. She looked at his scrawl that matched the writing that she had seen thousands of times on the chalkboard in the dungeons before rushing to the library to see if the Black family had any of these books in their possession. 

As she pulled down the first book off of the battered library shelves, Ophelia jumped when the door shut to the library. Fred was smirking at her as he crossed over from the room to look at what she was doing. “It’s Summer, Ophelia. What on Earth are you doing reading?”

“Professor Dumbledore wants me to begin training to be a Healer privately for the Order.” She hugged the book to her chest and felt the importance of her headmaster placing this responsibility onto her. “I can’t let the Order down.”

“That’s no fair! You’re allowed to be in the Order?”

“Only as a Healer. I’m not going to see the front lines of any action.” She shrugged as she sat on the couch that was against the wall. 

Fred joined her and plopped down on the green, velvet couch. “I still think it’s no fair. I would give anything to sit in on those meetings. We are actually developing something so that we can eavesdrop on the meetings.”

“Oh really? What is it?” She asked as she opened up the book to scan through the Potions that she recognized the many titles as those that filled the shelves in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. 

“Extendable Ears. It’s something that we have been working on for a bit but now we have some real motivation to finish up so that we can learn about what’s going on in the meetings. That is of course, if you don’t tell us--”

“I can’t, Frederick. You know that. Your mother would kill me.”

“Well… I could always get the information out of your by… torturing you.” He flipped her over on her back and began tickling her sides until there were tears rolling down her cheeks. “Come on, Ophelia, you know you can’t resist the Weasley charm!”

“Freddie! Stop! I’m not going to tell you!” She said in between laughs as she tickled her neck and side.

“There are other ways I could get the information out as well.” Fred wiggled his eyebrows before kissing her neck, causing her to gasp. 

“Get. Off. Of. Her.” Her father Remus’ voice filled the library which made Fred jump back on the couch. 

Fred’s face turned bright red as his mouth opened up and closed frantically. “I’m so sorry, sir. I-- I--”

“I think you were just leaving.” Her father raised his eyebrows and gestured towards the door which her boyfriend gladly ran out of to get out of the now awkward library. Once it was just Ophelia and him in the library he crossed over and sat down on the couch. “Lock the door at least, next time. I beg you.”

She put the book over her face in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Just, be more careful.” He smiled. “I want you to reconsider becoming a Healer for the Order. Sirius doesn’t know I’m talking to you about this but I’m sure he has his suspicion. It’s far too dangerous and if someone found out what you were doing, they could use it against you.” 

“Professor Dumbledore I think wants me to. I don’t want to let him down or anyone else in the Order for that matter. How old were you when the first war was happening and you were put into the Order?” She challenged him.

“It doesn’t matter what happened during my life. I want a better life for you. That’s how I’ve raised you my entire life. I don’t want your friends and yourself to be thrown into a war when you’re just children.” He held up his finger, cutting her off from arguing with him when he said children. “I understand the Ministry says you’re an adult but you’re still the little girl that I took to Olivander’s to pick up her first wand. I will never stop worrying about you, Ophelia.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you, dad. This is something I want to do. I want to help. Please let me.”

He sighed. “I would never have allowed you to but I think that Sirius and Marlene would’ve wanted you to be able to work as a Healer for the Order. Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I promise, dad. I always am.”

Later on, after she was left alone to read, she had marked up the book from the library and read until her head was aching. Ophelia tucked the book under her arm and left the library to walk up to the room that was now hers in the old Black house. On her way there, she was pulled into another room by two sets of hands. “What the bloody hell are you two doing? I’m trying to go to bed?” She complained as she eyed the twins warrily.

“We want your help with something. We are finishing up something and we want you to smell it.” George winked at her.

“No way.” She scoffed. “I’m not stupid it’ll probably make me pass out or throw up by the fumes.”

“I’m hurt you think of us like that.” Fred joked as he walked over to the cauldron they had brewing in the center of the room. “Come on, O.”

She sighed and walked over to the cauldron and he lifted the lid off of the potion. Ophelia blushed slightly as she realized that they were adjusting Amortentia. She had brewed a perfect Amortentia last year as a requirement for her N.E.W.T level Potions class. This however, looked different. It was a different color and the smell was weakened but still powerful. “What is this?”

“Just tell us what you smell.” George prodded.

“I smell… the inside of a new book, the fresh smell of flying over the quidditch pitch, the Hufflepuff common room, freshly lit firework smoke, and vanilla.” The Hufflepuff girl blushed as she tugged at the hem of her Quidditch sweatshirt. “What is this?”

“We are making a love potion.” Fred wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s an adjustment on Amortentia to make it weakened and then some stabilizers to put it into an editable form and giving it a longer shelf life.”

“That seems dangerous.” She shook her head. “I would hate to be under the influence of this. Can I go to bed now?”

George laughed. “Just wanted to see if you smell Freddie. Just wanted to mess with you.”

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip. She wasn’t about to admit that Fred did indeed smell like Filibuster Firework smoke and vanilla. Her chest felt heavy as she smelled the Hufflepuff common room and she was bombarded with thoughts of Cedric smiling at her from across homework that they were working on together at their favorite table and chairs. “Well, goodnight boys.” She smiled sadly before rushing to her room before the tears began to flow down her face as the haunting look of Cedric’s face as he landed after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament filled her face. 

That night she had a nightmare that she was being put under the Cruciatus curse from Bellatrix Lestrange. The death eater was trying to get information from her from the Order. When she couldn’t give the death eater what she wanted, Cedric was pulled out from a cage, alive. “Cedric!” She called out towards him.

“Ophelia! Don’t tell them anything! Whatever they do--”

He was cut off short by Bellatrix sending a bright burst of green light towards him and that empty stare that she saw back in June filled his face. She screamed out his name and sobbed on the floor as the Cruciatous curse began to take effect again on her body from the mad woman with the Black family blue eyes and high cheekbones. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The haunting nightmares that Ophelia have of Cedric just make me so sad! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter of Missing Puzzle Pieces, whoever you may be. I was in a little writers block this week but now I am motivated again and working hard on seeing what will happen to Ophelia. :)


	59. Chapter Fifty-Nine: Firsts

**Chapter Fifty-Nine: Firsts**

Ophelia kept having those nightmares of her aunt torturing her and killing her best friend. She wrote to Grace, asking how she was holding up with everything going on. She asked her if she was experiencing any nightmares since she was now being forced to re-watch Cedric die every night when she closed her eyes. She attached the note to Stella and let the owl stretch her wings to go off and deliver the note to the other heartbroken Hufflepuff. 

The nightmares had caused her to pick up a very unhealthy caffeine addiction since she didn’t want to sleep. What was better than the coffee, was the Firewhiskey which she would mix with something called an energy drink, a muggle thing that she learned from a magazine. Ophelia was in an empty room currently pouring herself another large glass of Firewhiskey when the door opened. “You know, for someone training to be a healer you take shit care of yourself.” Ginny accused as she crossed over the floor of empty energy drinks and sat down on the dusty bed next to her older friend. “How are you doing?”

Ophelia laughed darkly. “What do you think, Gin?”

“You need to tell your parents.”

“No.” She scoffed and downed more firewhiskey. “I’m an adult. I can legally drink now, they shouldn’t be worrying about me. They have enough on their plate right now.” 

“What’s more important than their daughter’s health and well-being?” Ginny challenged as she tried to take the bottle of Ogden’s Firewhiskey from her friend. “Come on, knock it off.”

“I can’t sleep, Ginny. I can’t be sober.” Ophelia whispered with fear in her eyes as she clutched the bottle tighter. “His face will fill my thoughts if I do.”

“Whose face?”

“Cedrics.” Ophelia choked out as she took a long drag of the Firewhiskey. “If I’m drunk, I don’t think about it.” She slurred as she stood up and turned on the record player she took from the Weasley’s to Grimmauld Place. “I can’t be alone in my thoughts, Ginny. You wouldn’t understand. It's haunting me, my thoughts.”

“Oh really? I remember clearly when I wasn’t alone in my thoughts. Tom Riddle made sure I had very dark images in my head back when I was in my first year.” The red-head girl challenged as she walked over to Ophelia who was now cranking the record player as loud as it would go. “This isn’t healthy, Ophelia.”

“I haven't gotten a chance to mourn!” She screamed over the music. “I just need to-- I just need to--” 

“Cry?”

“Honestly… I just want to hit a fucking bludger right now. I’m so angry that Cedric died. It should’ve been anyone but him. I would’ve gladly traded places with him. He touched so many lives and he was such a good person. And what am I? I’m a fucking drunk now.” Ophelia let out the angry tears as she drained the rest of the firewhiskey and began to cry. “I just want to be alone right now, Ginny.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea--”

Ophelia felt the anger bubble up in her chest. “Please, Ginny. It’s not safe for you to be around me when I’m this angry. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You’re in control of your magic, I know it.” The young Gryffindor girl challenged.

“No!” Ophelia held up her hands. “Don’t come any closer than me. I hurt Cedric last Summer and I’m in a much darker place now than I was then.”

“You don’t seem like it…”

“That’s because I’m fucking hiding it now.” Ophelia snapped and threw the Firewhiskey bottle across the room until it shattered into a million pieces. “I want so badly to just disappear and stop thinking of the fucking death eater that fills my brain and the constant loop of Cedric’s death. But when I’m sober, it’s all I can think of.”

Ginny was frozen, staring at the shattered glass on the black carpet. “Ophelia… you need to talk to someone about this.”

The door to the room opened up and Sirius, Remus, and Mr. Weasley were staring at the girls with their wands raised. “What happened here?” Mr. Weasley asked as he glanced between the girls and the shattered glass. 

“Tell them, Ophelia. Or I will.” Ginny said as she stood behind her dad.

Ophelia barked out a laugh. “I threw the bottle. What’s the big fucking deal.” 

“Are you drunk?” Her father Remus was crossing the room and looked into her eyes. “You are. You’re slurring. What’s gotten into you, Ophelia?”

“I can’t be sober.” She shuddered. “She’ll-- she’ll come and kill Cedric!”

“Who?” Sirius was asking as he snapped his finger and Kreacher the house elf came into the room to clean up the mess that Ophelia just created. “Who is in your dreams?”

“Bellatrix. She-- she-- tortures me and then kills Cedric.”

“This is why I didn’t want you in the Order. It’s too much for you. You’re done.” Her father said as he waved his wand and summoned a sobering potion. “Drink this.”

“No.”

“No you won’t drink it?”

“I’ll drink it but I’m not backing out of the Order. This would be happening if I was in the Order or not because my best fucking friend was murdered!” She tore the bottle out of his scarred hand and downed the contents, letting it burn as it went down her throat. “You aren’t pulling me from the Order. I’m an adult and I can do what I want.”

“You will not be getting drunk like this under my roof.” Her father Sirius said as he crossed the room. “You’re throwing your life away doing this and I will not allow it.”

“How rich. You’re acting like my dad now?” Ophelia shook her head and walked out of the room, ignoring the disapproving looks and remarks from the older men. “I’m going to bed.”

The next day she had a major hangover but she welcomed it knowing that it would be the last time she felt this pain in a while since Sirius commanded Kreacher that he was no longer allowed to bring her any alcohol. She poured herself a large cup of coffee and tried to nibble on some toast at breakfast. “Ginny told me what happened last night. What’s gotten into you?” Fred asked from her right as he loaded up his plate with bacon and eggs. 

“When’s the last time you saw your best friend dead?”

He froze and stared at her. “I- I-”

“That’s what I thought. I’m allowed to be hurt with everything going on. Everyone expects me to be fine and I’m not fucking fine.”

“No one expects you to be fine. But we do expect you not to destroy your liver and brain. You can come to me. I’m here for you, love.” Fred held her hand under the table as he looked at her with worry in his eyes.

Ophelia felt the guilt build in her chest and went back to drinking her coffee as the table filled with more people that were living under the roof of Grimmauld Place. Her dads were looking at her with the same worry that filled Fred’s eyes from across the table. After breakfast, Fred grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the garden behind the house that was just cleaned up and made livable yesterday. “Fresh air will be good for you.” He smiled as they laid down in the warm grass and watched as the clouds move overhead and covered them in shade. “Ophelia you need to talk to me about what’s going on in your head.”

“You must think I’m fucking crazy.” She let a tear slide out from her eye before she swatted it away. “It’s the same dream over and over again.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy.” He gently grabbed her chin and turned her face so she was forced to look at his concerned brown eyes. “I just want the best for you, O. I-- I-- I love you. I want to take care of you.”

Her heart fluttered as she looked at the strong emotions behind his eyes. Fred Weasley just told her that he loved her. “Freddie… I love you, too.” She put her hand on his cheek and smiled sadly at him. “I wish you could help me with this but I think it’s just a nightmare.”

“Well… allow me to fight off the nightmares for you.” He smiled and nodded. “I’m going to invent something that prevents nightmares for you. You watch.”

She giggled and leaned into peck his lips. “I don’t deserve you, Freddie.”

“Stop that. You absolutely do. If anything I don’t deserve someone as amazing, beautiful, and brilliant as you.” He leaned over her and placed his lips against hers again.

Ophelia allowed his tongue to dance with hers as the butterflies fluttered inside her stomach when he held onto her tightly. He rolled over so that he was on top of her, but holding his weight up with his elbows. “I love you, Ophelia. I’m so glad I finally said it.”

“I love you, too. You’re the first person I’ve said that too.” She giggled as he kissed her again, this time on her neck.

“You’re the first person I’ve said it to as well. Seems fitting since I fell in love with you probably back in our third year.” He kissed her lips again as she took that information in.

“Third year?!” Her eyes opened wide. “You’re joking.” 

“No! I was so bloody jealous of you hanging out with other guys and anytime Pucey would say something to me in class about you talking to him I just wanted to punch him.”

“You did punch him at the Three Broomsticks.” She pointed out as she kissed his freckled cheek. 

“I don’t remember what year that was.” He laughed. “Time blends together after a while I guess.” Fred looked at her with hunger in his eyes as he kissed her again. 

With the new passion of the words _I love you_ being muttered back and forth between the two between their caresses and kisses, the kiss lasted much longer than any of their kisses had before. They only ended when one of the clouds that was covering them with some shade began to sprinkle them with water. “Oh, Freddie! It’s raining!” She complained as she tried to run back into the house.

He grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her in tight to him. “Do you remember that muggle movie you made me watch? They danced in the rain. Come on, let’s do it.” He waved his wand and brought the small muggle radio that was his and George’s room flying down to the garden. Fred set it in the protection of the rain and turned it to a radio station that they would listen to constantly.

She giggled as the ABBA song _Lay All Your Love On Me_ began to play loudly in the garden of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. “I think if my grandmother found out we were dancing to muggle music in her garden she would die all over again.”

Fred laughed as he began to dance to the 80’s song and pretend to be the lead singer as he serenaded to Ophelia in the, now, pouring rain. His Gryffindor t-shirt was soaked as he grabbed her hands and twirled her around in the wet grass as the ABBA music filled the air. She laughed out loud and didn’t even notice that her own black Hufflepuff Chaser T-shirt was soaking wet from the pouring rain as he twirled her around in the wet grass. 

Ophelia began to join in the singing as she playfully pointed to him and sang the chorus out loud to him as they danced around each other in the garden. He laughed and joined in, “Don’t go wasting your emotion, lay all your love on me!” 

She grabbed his wrist and pulled her close to him, standing on her tippie toes to give him a kiss. He sensed what she was trying to do and leant down to meet his lips against her. With his hands he gripped her back tightly, pulling her close against his body as their lips connected and sent fireworks throughout the two of them. Ophelia wrapped her one hand around the back of his head, lacing her fingers in his bright red hair while the other wrapped around his back pulling him close to her as well. Time seemed to have frozen as the ABBA song died out and they were snogging in the pouring rain. “That’s disgusting!” Ginny teased as her and George revealed their spot from the door with Opehlia’s camera in his hand. “Good thing we caught the show on camera for blackmail.”

“You’re learning so much.” George ruffled her hair as he waved the camera in the air. “Watch out love birds. Remember, there’s a lot of people under this roof, better we caught you instead of mum or Sirius.” 

The four of them all laughed out loud as Fred and Ophelia at the same time grabbed for one of their wrists and pulled them into the pouring rain to dance in the garden with them. The group was laughing and trying not to slip on the wet grass to the radio as it was now playing Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears. It was the perfect song for a perfect day and Ophelia kept glancing at Fred with blushing cheeks as she thought of the words _I love you_ ring in her ears. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter! My heart breaks for Ophelia but I'm so glad she has such a strong support system to keep her somewhat afloat in this challenging time. I hope you all enjoy!


	60. Chapter Sixty: Healer Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for you support to Missing Puzzle Pieces! I am blown away with the support I am getting from this story. Something that started off as just a daydream/thought about what would happen if this character existed has turned into a story that has 60 chapters now!! Like what?! I'm stunned. Thank you for continuing to read and I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter Sixty: Healer Training**

Ophelia’s quill wrote at a quick pace as she was writing in the margins of the second book now that she was studying for Snape to become a Healer. Dumbledore informed Madam Pomfrey to pick out a few books as well for in field work so that Ophelia could grow her library of Healer books. She was in the middle of a paragraph on the importance of brewing a potion to make Burn-Healing Paste when two loud cracks filled the living room and the twins popped on either side of her. “Whatcha studying about, Lupin?” George asked as he craned his neck to look at the potion book. “Isn’t it Summer?”

“This isn’t for Hogwarts. It’s for the Order.” She sniffed and flicked her black curl over her shoulder. “I need to learn all these potions and all of the spells that go along with the common ailments that a fighter in the field might come across so I know how to help.”

“What’s this one?” Fred asked as he wrapped his long arm around the back of the green, velvet sofa and brushing against her neck and shoulder.

“Burn-Healing Paste. I feel like I should make some of this for you two when you’re experimenting.” She pointed to the possible treatment options that the paste helped. “You seem very accident prone.”

“Hey, we only burnt ourselves twice this week!” George complained.

“Yea and it’s only Wednesday.” Ophelia laughed and put her bookmark into the spot of the textbook before closing it. “What are you boys up to?”

“Well, we actually want you to look at a potion that we are working on.” Fred admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck as he had a frustrated look planted on his face. “We don’t think it’s right.”

“Another fresh pair of eyes would really help us figure out what’s wrong.” George added.

“Alright--” before she could finish the rest of her sentence, Fred had grabbed her arm and with a crack, she was sucked to their bedroom by her navel. “Ugh, Freddie! Don’t apparate me without warning me first. You know I hate that.” She grabbed at her head to stop the room from spinning. “We could’ve walked.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He teased. 

“You’re such a pain in the ass.” She laughed as George popped into the room.

“Ahh yes, but I’m your pain in the ass.” Fred winked as he waved his wand and revealed a cauldron that was bubbling on a workstation. “This is to go into a sweet for our Skiving Snackbox. We are trying to reverse the potion that helps you get over nausea.”

“Eew. So this is going to cause someone to puke? How are you going to test it? On yourselves?” She hesitated as she stirred the murky potion in the cauldron and smelled it, trying to figure out and think back to the nausea curing potion and what it was supposed to look like. “You better have the antidote ready to go for when you are testing them.”

“Obviously, O. We aren’t dumb.” George pretended to look hurt and the idea that they wouldn’t be prepared. “We think we are missing an ingredient or something because when we did sample this, it didn’t make us vomit, just get an upset stomach. Obviously, the professors won’t let you out of class just for not feeling well, you have to actually throw up to be excused.”

“Nasty.” Ophelia winced. “Where are your notes?”

Fred handed a small notebook over to her and she saw that this was batch No. 4 of their trial run with a product called _Puking Pastilles_ . She used her pointer finger to scan over their carefully written notes and looked at what ingredients they used. She cross referenced this list with her list from the first potions book that Snape had informed her to read about to help sick individuals as a Healer. “Ah-ha!” She cheered and grabbed a feathered quill off of their work station and dunked the tip into the vibrant blue ink they had. Ophelia penciled in _2 spoonfuls of Leech juice and then stir clockwise 3 times until the surface becomes a dark brown color_. “That should do it.”

“You’re amazing.” Fred gave her a wet kiss on her cheek before George was searching through their potions ingredients to find their leech juice. 

When he located it, he followed Ophelia’s written directions and sure enough the potion looked like it should work now. “Bottoms up, Fred.” George said as he scooped out two glasses of the potion and summoned two buckets into the room.

“Oh can I please not be in here for--” Ophelia’s complaints were too late, both boys had downed the contents of their cups and were throwing up into the buckets. “Gross!” She complained and covered her nose. 

George and Fred both took a swig from a canister that must’ve contained the antidote to the puking potion since they both stopped vomiting and smiled at each other. “We have a successful batch!” 

“I’m so not kissing you with your mouth smelling like that.” Ophelia wrinkled her nose and stepped out of their bedroom. “I’m going to study! Let me know if you boys need help with anything else.” 

With that, she closed the door to their room and ran into Kreacher, the house elf of Grimmauld Place. “Half-blood filth as a Black… mistress would be so disappointed… although she was always disappointed in Sirius so any child of his--”

“Kreacher! Enough of your vile!” Sirius Black was standing at the end of the hallway with a book on lycanthropy tucked under his arm. “Sorry about that, Ophelia. He never was kind. Not even when I was a child.”

“It’s okay. It has to be a big change for him to have all of these people in the house after so many without. Is he still helping Mrs. Weasley clean the house?” Sirius nodded in response. “Well hopefully that helps him feel more… needed.”

“He could stop with all the talk about blood traitors and half-bloods to begin, that would be nice. I was actually on my way to go talk to Remus about his upcoming change. Would you like to come with? I think he wants to ask you something.” He gave her an encouraging smile and she tucked her book in front of her chest before joining him as they walked towards the kitchen area. “How have you been holding up since Cedric?”

Her heart skipped a beat and the sadness and guilt of living while her friend was not radiated throughout her chest to the tips of her finger tips. “I’m… surviving.”

“That’s all you can do sometimes. It’s okay to not be okay, Ophelia. Hell, when James and Lily were murdered… I lost it. It would’ve been believable that I killed Peter. I know that I wanted to so badly.” He shook his head and looked down at his feet. “But you also have Marlene in you. She was so spirited. One time, a Slytherin boy on the Quidditch team was talking ignorantly about Lily and Mary and well-- your mother full on punched him in the mouth. He had to have his front tooth put back in by Madam Pomfrey.” Sirius laughed at the memory. 

“Do you think I’m like her?”

“I think you’re an odd combination of the three of us.” He chuckled as their feet carried them through the dingy old Black house. “I think you have Remus’ smarts for sure, you have Marlene’s temper, and I think you have my dramatics and sarcasm from what I’ve heard. All together, you’re your own person. Amazing and talented. Never forget that, Ophelia.” Sirius smiled down at her. “I am sorry about missing so much of your life. I’ve heard so many stories from Remus when we were traveling about how amazing you are, I was pretty jealous that he got to raise you and watch all of your accomplishments. I know I’ve missed out on so much. I promise to not miss out on anymore important milestones.”

She blushed across her nose and felt her heart flutter. “Thank you Si-- Dad. That… means a lot.”

He pushed open the door to the kitchen with the long wooden table and her father was working diligently over a calendar, tracking the lunar cycles with his glasses perched on the tip of his scarred nose. “Ophelia! Sirius! Let me move some of this out of the way.” He pushed aside a few books on Defensive Magic and smiled at them. “How are you both?”

“Fine.” Ophelia answered with a smile. “I just helped the twins fix their potion for one of their Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes products, don’t tell Mrs. Weasley. I don’t want to be involved with a lecture.”

“Ahh-- speaking of potions… I know that Snivelous gave you some potions books.” Her father Sirius said as he pulled a wooden chair back from the table for Ophelia to sit in. “Would you be able to try something for us?”

She nodded her head. “Sure, anything.”

Her father Remus blushed. “He isn’t making my potions for my transitions anymore. There’s some bad blood still despite him working for the Order. I was hoping that you could try and make the potion… your first hands on act as a Healer for the Order of Phoenix. Not that I enjoy you being in action but I think you should begin working if this is something you’re seriously considering.”

Ophelia felt herself sit a little straighter in the chair and she raised her chin slightly. “I would be honored to help you, dad.” She reached across the wooden table and grabbed his scarred hand. “When is the beginning of the cycle? When do you need the potion done by?”

“Next week. I feel like I’m asking too much of you--”

She held up her hand to stop him. “Nonsense. This is what I want to do, right? I better get going and start figuring out how to become a Healer. You need me, the Order needs me, the cause needs me.” Ophelia was handed the lycanthropy book that Sirius was holding in the hallway earlier.

“I’ve already marked the potion.” Sirius smiled. “Let me know if you need any ingredients at all and I will send Kreacher right away. Or if you want to go straight to him, that’s fine too. He answers to the heirs of the Black family, you and Harry have that right.” 

“When is Harry going to join us? I miss him and I think he needs his family now more than ever.”

“I agree with you.” Sirius grunted.

Remus sighed. “Dumbledore thinks it would be best if he stayed with the muggles until the beginning of term or at least until he needs to come to the wizarding world to get his school supplies for the year. You’ve seen the Prophet, could you imagine if some of the radicals that believe all of Rita Skeeter's nonsense saw him in public? It wouldn’t be good attention that’s for sure.” 

Ophelia’s heart sank. “I wish the Prophet would believe him. It’s ridiculous that Cedric’s death would’ve been an accident. He was fucking murdered. He wouldn’t have messed up. He was the best of us.” Tears were pricking her eyes and she furiously wiped them away. “I just wish they would honor his death more. See the truth.”

“We wish for that too.” Her father, Remus, reached out and squeezed her hand in a comforting manner. “We are here for you and Harry to get through this troubling time.”

“It’s just ridiculous that Dumbledore isn’t letting me write to Harry about anything really. I wanted to tell him that I was beginning to study to become a Healer officially and Dumbledore said no. What would that give away at all about the Order?” The Hufflepuff girl shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek in rage.

Her father, Sirius, placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I know it is hard right now. I think Dumbledore doesn’t want the letter to get intercepted and have you become a target for any death eaters. If they think that we have a Healer that is capable of mending any soldiers, well, it could get ugly. They targeted Healers in the last war since if our side was unable to help our wounded, it would make the outcome tip in their favor. That’s why we want to keep your training within the Order members and family for now. You can tell Harry when you see him in person.”

She sighed in annoyance. “It’s just-- frustrating.”

“I know… I know…” Sirius patted her shoulder. “You can get through this, Ophelia. You come from a strong family and you were raised by the best man I know. If you can’t get through the loss of a friend, I don’t think anyone would be able to.” He winked at her as she smiled.

After they talked about the ingredients that she would need and what she had for the Wolfsbane Potion. She then rushed up to the room that she was staying in and put a cauldron on her work space. The Healer in training decided that she would begin the potion while she was waiting for Kreacher to bring her the last ingredient in the potion. Ophelia double-checked the steps to the Potion, carefully making sure that she wouldn’t mess up since the Wolfsbane Potion was both very expensive to make and very tedious work.

As she was adding the castor oil to the cauldron, causing the potion to turn into a beautiful, navy blue color, a popping sound filled the air as Kreacher appeared in the center of the room. He held out his hand with the wiggentree bark as he bowed towards her until his ugly nose touched the ground. “For Master Ophelia…”

“Thank you, Kreacher. Have you ever aided a witch or wizard in making a potion?” She asked, trying to make conversation with the cold house elf.

He seemed taken aback that she was talking to him, without giving an order. Kreacher straightened up and glanced around the room, “I have indeed been beneficial to the success of brewing potions for my late Master.”

“Walburga made Potions often?”

“Not the Misses of the house. The late Master Regulus was a brilliant wizard.” Kreacher looked like he was lost in thought as he thought of Regulus Black, Sirius’ younger brother.

“I hadn’t realized my uncle enjoyed making Potions.” She tried again with conversation as she stirred the potion twice. 

Kreacher eyed her warily. “Master Regulus did not enjoy them but he did what had to be done.” He grunted. “May Kreacher go attend to the portrait of the Lady of the house?”

Ophelia raised her eyebrows at the house elf but decided not to push what his statement about Regulus meant. She didn’t want to push her luck with the conversation since so far it wasn’t hostile and was the most friendly response she has gotten from the old house-elf. “Of course, Kreacher.”

He bowed again before snapping his fingers and disappearing to go stop the wailing of her grandmother's portrait. Ophelia shivered at the thought of his comment but quickly tried to push it out of her mind since she had to focus on the Wolfsbane Potion. It was going to be her first official potion that she made as the Healer for the Order and she didn’t want to disappoint. 


	61. Chapter Sixty-One: Family Trees

**Chapter Sixty-One: Family Trees**

During a particular rainy, summer day, Ophelia was sitting in the reading nook of the library, looking out on the muggle street as couples tried to dash up with colorful umbrellas to the safety of their homes. She hadn’t heard back from Harry after she wrote to him asking how he Summer was, he must’ve still been mad that she was refusing to say anything about her own Summer. She kept just giving him non answers about how she didn’t feel like doing anything with the loss of Cedric, which wasn’t a full lie. She knew that if it wasn’t for the Order keeping her busy, she might’ve turned into the shell of a person that she was last summer. Ophelia was doing her best to stay busy and keep up with her journaling that the Healer recommended her do to stay in touch with her emotions.

She was currently half way through a journal response but she didn’t know what else to say. Her eyes scanned the paper again to re-read it, seeing if it would help prompt thought.

_Dear Cedric,_

_Today is a rather crappy day outside. I’ve already finished the Wolfsbane Potion for my dad. I hope it helps during the first day of the cycle which is tonight. Ginny is helping her Mum clean out some of the nasty bedrooms. Fred and George are hiding away, finishing something for Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes._

_I just don’t know what to do with myself. I have a meeting with Snape tonight for him to look at the Wolfsbane Potion and the work I have done for a healing kit for in field work if it is ever needed. I don’t know what to think of that. I didn’t realize how much he hates both of my dads. Thankfully, he hasn’t taken it out on me._

_I miss you, Ced. I was thinking of you this morning when the twins were talking about Quidditch. I don’t think I can try out this year. I know, I know. You are probably up in the after life right now just screaming at me ‘What do you mean you aren’t going to try out for Quidditch? You’re a natural!’ I just can’t get on a broomstick without thinking of when you kissed me while the sun was setting over the grounds. It made me start crying at breakfast and I had to excuse myself. I love you, Ced. I think I always will. Please watch over Harry. I haven’t heard from him all summer because I’ve been so short with him in my letters. I worry about him, you know._

_I don’t know what else to say. I hope this is sufficient enough to write about to help keep my emotions in check. I’ll write to you tomorrow, Ced._

_Xoxo Ophelia_

She sighed and slammed her journal shut in frustration, not bothering to check if the gold ink had dried on the pages yet. “Ophelia!” Sirius’ voice called for her from downstairs. “Can you come down here?”

“Coming!” Ophelia shoved the midnight black journal in her leather bag and slung it over her slim shoulder. She slid on her tennis shoes that were sitting haphazardly in front of the reading nook before she ran downstairs, taking them two at a time. “What’s up?”

“I think someone would like to meet you.” Sirius smiled as he gestured for her to follow him into the living room. “Ophelia… this is Andromeda.”

The Hufflepuff girl froze when she saw a woman in her forties sitting on one of the black, leather arm chairs by the roaring fire. She had a smile painted on her face but her eyes were watchful and wide, looking at Ophelia’s every move. The younger girl opened her mouth and shut him a couple times, not knowing what to say. It was as if she was pressing fast forward on her life and saw herself in about 25 years. “Ophelia, dear. Would you like to join me?” She said in a kind voice as she gestured to the other arm chair. “Sirius tells me you like music.”

Ophelia let her feet take her to the matching chair and she plopped in it, aware that she wasn’t sitting as gracefully as her aunt. “Er-- yea. I really enjoy the 70s and 80s music. ABBA and Queen are my favorite.” 

She smiled at her. “How alike you are to Sirius and I. Pissing off the Black family and listening to muggle music.” Her Aunt winked at her with the same thick eyelashes that Ophelia had. “I have a present for you.”

Ophelia perked up and craned her neck as Andromeda was searching through her handbag. When her manicured hand returned, she was holding a muggle device that Grace’s family owned. It was like a record player but smaller. “Have you seen a CD-Rom player before?”

She nodded her head. “My best friend, her dad is a muggle. They own a few in their home and we listen to them while we are painting our nails.” Ophelia’s heart earned to go to the Thorne’s house and sit in their bathroom, painting her nails with Grace and Melody while the radio or CDs played music loudly for the girls to bob their heads along to while they gossiped about boys or school. 

“Well… I bought this for you to have. I know you had a record player but I figured this wouldn’t take up as much space. I also picked out some CDs for you that reminded me of your father or I thought you might enjoy.” Andromeda beamed at Ophelia as she pulled out a binder that had sleeves that held 4 CDs to each page. “Here is some ABBA, Queen, Guns N Roses, AC/DC, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, oh and Nymphadora picked out some more recent bands like Nirvana, Spice Girls, and a few others.” 

Ophelia’s face was blushing from the attention and she smiled appreciatively at her aunt. “I don’t know how I can repay you--”

“Darling, it’s a gift. Think of it as me trying to make up for lost time.” Andromeda tucked one of the Hufflepuff girls black curls behind her ear. “I wanted to help Sirius so badly when he was growing up when I ran away with Ted. Sadly, I wasn’t able to help you as much. I knew you up until, well, up until Sirius was arrested. I want to be here for you now.”

“You’re so much like Tonks.” Ophelia thought out loud with a smile on her face. “She was there for me at school growing up. You should know that. She’s great.”

“My daughter is a phenomenal person. I can’t wait to get to know my phenomenal niece now.” Andromeda smiled and held onto Ophelia’s hand and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Once it is safe, I will bring Ted around so you can meet him as well. I just don’t want to bring him into the wizarding world with everything going on right now. I hope you can understand my fear.”

She nodded gravely. “I think that’s really wise, Aunt Andromeda.”

“That’s quite a mouthful, don’t you think? Aunt ‘Dromeda works just fine as well. I told Cissy that Draco could call me that but… she never returned that letter.” Andromeda’s eyes grew sad as she let out a sigh. “The Black family is very complicated, dear. Let Sirius and I deal with all the trouble and you just enjoy the family that is present.” 

“Blood-traitors, half-bloods, all in Misses house…” Kreacher drawled under his breath as he grumpily brought them over a kettle of tea and two mugs from the kitchen. 

“Always a delight, Kreacher.” Andromeda smiled sadly at the house elf as she poured the girls two cups of chamomile tea. “Now, tell me all about your years at Hogwarts. I want to know everything about your life, dear. No detail is too small.”

With that, Ophelia dove into details about her years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, beginning with her first year and meeting everyone that she knew. Andromeda smiled when she heard her talk so highly about Charlie Weasley and Tonks. She let out a small gasp when she told her about the snake prank and her getting hurt. Her aunt would smile knowingly whenever Fred or Cedric were brought up into conversation and Ophelia was sure that she had heard some of this already from Nymphadora and Charlie. Her Aunt would gasp at the right moments and talk her up, giving her permission also to punch Adrian Pucey in the face for the way that he would talk to her.

She glazed over details about last year, not wanting to talk about the Triwizard Tournament except for what was essential and important. The only part she did go into detail about last year was how amazing the Yule Ball was and how Fred treated her that night. Ophelia was lost in thought as she remembered the way that he looked at her in the dazzling dress that shone in the light. 

“It sounds like you have had a wonderful time at Hogwarts for the most part.” Her Aunt smiled as she drained the last of her tea and placed the mug on the end table. “Fred Weasley… he’s a nice boy, isn’t he?”

She blushed across her cheeks and nose. “Er-- yes. I don’t think either of my dads would let him even look at me in this house if that weren’t the case.”

Andromeda let out an enchanting laugh. “I suppose you are right about that, Ophelia. Just know if you would like to talk about boys, I’m here for you.” She gave her a wink which only made Ophelia blush even more. “I would like to meet Fred. Perhaps, another time." The older witch glanced at the sparkling wristwatch and let out a small sigh. "I do have to get back since Tonks will go on patrol soon. We like to make sure the wards are highly guarding our house so no one can get to Ted.” 

Her aunt stood up and wrapped Ophelia into a tight embrace. “You’re such a smart and brilliant girl, Ophelia. I love you. You’re always welcome at my house.” Andromeda handed her a piece of parchment paper with an address written on it. “Do you have it memorized?”

Ophelia nodded and her aunt took the paper and threw it into the flames. “You’re a secret keeper now to our house. You can always go there if you need help.” She leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Goodbye, Ophelia.”

“Goodbye, Aunt ‘Dromeda!” Ophelia sang out as the older witch went off to say her goodbyes to her cousin. The feeling of saying Aunt on her lips made a smile creep there. The feeling of family and being included in something bigger than herself made Ophelia want to cry out of happiness.

Admiring her new gift, she wanted to show it off so she ran off to her bedroom and collected the twins on her way there and snuck Ginny out of the cleaning chores she was stuck doing in the library. The four of them sat on Ophelia’s bed and listened to the sounds of the CD players blast the music throughout the room. 

Fred suddenly grabbed both of her hands and began to spin her around as George did the same with Ginny. Ophelia leaned into the soaring emotion that she was feeling and decided that she would finish her journal later tonight telling journal Cedric about her new family and the happiness that came along with them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the Tonks family. This chapter was fun to write about and think about what their first interactions would be. I hope you all enjoy!


	62. Chapter Sixty-Two: Boggarts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Just a warning there is some mature content in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy reading.

**Chapter Sixty-Two: Boggarts**

Ophelia was trying to cover her nose with one of Fred’s old Christmas jumpers as dust was filling the air of the smaller office space that was at No. 12 Grimmauld Place. The youngest Weasley was also coughing, trying to get the dust out of her lungs as they were batting the woven rugs, cleaning them from the filth that was covering them. “I hate cleaning.” Ginny moaned as she set the circular rug she was working on beating to the side to mark that it was finished. “Couldn’t we use magic to rush the process? You’re of age.”

“I don’t know any housekeeping spells.” Ophelia moaned. “Besides, your mum won’t tell us them because she wants me out of the Order meeting that’s going on.”

“I thought she couldn’t do that because you’re in the Order.” Ginny pointed out as she took the rag that was stuffed into her back pocket and began to dust the shelves that lined the back wall. “How did she manage that?”

“She told my dad Remus that I didn’t help out with this acting like she told you and I hours ago this needed to be done.” She rolled her eyes. “I think that he was happy that I wasn’t going to be in there. Your mum is just happy that I won’t even have a chance to spill the secrets to your brothers.”

“You better not be telling them.” Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. “Or at least, not without telling me!”

The Hufflepuff girl let out a laugh. “I wouldn’t leave you out of anything, don’t you worry, Gin.” She ruffled the younger girl’s hair and turned back to her task to set aside the rug and move onto making sure all of the books on the far shelves were still in acceptable condition. 

As she was walking towards the wall, the desk began to rattle furiously. Ophelia whipped out her wand that was tucked behind her ear and told Ginny to stand behind her. The black, claw foot desk shook again before a figure came out and stared at her with cold, dead eyes. It was a shadow of her friend, Cedric.

Tears filled her blue eyes and she felt her hand holding her wand begin to shake furiously. “Ophelia! It’s just a boggart! Ophelia!” Ginny was trying to shake her shoulders to wake her up from her horrible nightmare. 

This was a nightmare… right?

Cedric was dead… no… that wasn’t a nightmare. That was true. The dread filled her chest and the drowning feeling filled her as she thought of that horrible night where she lost her best friend.

His corpse was standing in front of her, reaching his bloodied arm out to her in his tattered yellow and black, Triwizard Tournament uniform. “Ophelia… help me… Ophelia…” Cedric’s voice came out of the Boggarts mouth in a perfect impression before it collapsed and struggled to breathe.

It flickered and turned into a teenage girl figure in a canary-yellow trimmed tobe with olive skin and perfect dark hair tucked into a braid. _Grace._ “Ophelia… please… I’m dying… help me!” The imitation of Grace’s voice came out of the boggart's painted lips. Her friend’s perfectly manicured hands clutched at her throat as the boggart version of Grace took her final breath and her eyes went completely dead.

“Remember the spell!” Ginny urged trying to shake Ophelia’s shoulders again. “Ophelia!”

The boggart shifted and turned into a scrawny teenage boy with wild black hair and piercing green eyes that were staring at her helplessly behind silver glasses. “Ophelia! Don’t abandon me! You said we were family! Help me!” The boggart version of Harry pleaded with her as tears poured down his cheeks before the cheeks began to develop freckles and the black, unruly hair turned into a fiery red.

Fred’s voice filled the air. “Ophelia… you were supposed to save me…”

The boggart morphed into two, George was now at Fred’s side. “Ophelia… why couldn’t you save us. We needed you! You let us die.”

The twins began to bleed from their eyes and Ophelia let out a scream. “This isn’t real!”

“Fight through the fear!” Ginny screamed as the door flew open and the twins stared at their boggart version lying dead on the ground at Ophelia’s feet. 

The Hufflepuff girls closed her eyes and focused on the thought of the twins as old men when they tossed their names into the Goblet of Fire. She swished her wand in the movement of the Boggart Banishing Spell and chanted, “Riddikulus!”

The real versions of Fred and George took their wands out and helped put the Boggart back into the desk that it was living in before transfiguring a book into a lock to seal the creature inside the dark area. Ophelia felt the ground under her as she sank down and put her hands on either side of her face to try and focus on her breathing. 

How many seconds was she supposed to breathe in for? How many seconds was she supposed to hold? How do you even breathe? Oh no, she forgot how to breathe!

Her heartbeat began to race as she tried to force her lungs to expand. The room was spinning furiously and she saw black spots fill her vision. “Ophelia!” Fred called out to her as his chocolate brown eyes swam into focus in front of her. 

Fred placed his hands over her own on the sides of her face. “Ophelia! Listen to me… you have to breathe.” His voice, although it looked like he was trying to be firm, it sounded like he was in another room or underwater. It was muffled and far away. “Go get her dads.”

She closed her eyes, trying not to think of their worry as they would race up to the office space and see her crumpled on the floor. No wonder they didn’t want her in the Order. She was a failure and couldn’t even fight off a Boggart that she learned about when she was only 13 years-old. It was horrible and embarrassing. 

The thought made the room begin to spin a little faster as tears welled up in her eyes. She opened her mouth to try and tell Fred that she didn’t want her dads or him to see her like this but nothing came out since there was no air in her lungs to help form words. “Come on…” Fred pleaded with her. “Breathe, Ophelia. With me.” He raised his red eyebrows and his eyes filled with a pleading look as he breathed in.

She forced her lungs to cooperate and she liked seeing the smile play at the corners of Fred’s lips. “Good… good… now… breathe out…” 

Ophelia laced her fingers through his and did what he said. The room was slowly beginning to still and the spots were fading away, allowing her a clear view of Fred in front of her with a worried look on his face. The door swung open again as Ginny led Sirius, Remus, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley inside the small office space. “Oh dear. I’m so sorry. I would have never had you girls cleaning this room if I had known that a boggart was in here!” The matriarch of the Weasley family was twisting her apron nervously between her hands. “I’ll go get some tea going!”

“Hot chocolate might be better, Molly.” Her father Remus nodded to her as she exited towards the kitchen. “Ophelia… how are you feeling with your anxiety?”

“I’m-- better. Fred… he helped me. I don’t think I would’ve been able to stay afloat if I was alone.” She gave the Gryffindor 7th year a glance of appreciation that Fred returned with a goofy smile that filled his entire face. “Thank you, Freddie.”

“Don’t worry about it, O. Can’t have you passing out. Mum would’ve thought that George and I did something to you.” He brought their hands down from the side of her face but he didn’t let go of them. “Do you want help going to the kitchen?”

“Well--” Sirius began. “The Order meeting is still going on. Perhaps you could move her to the living room, away from the boggart.” He was giving the twins a different look that she hadn’t seen yet. It looked to her like he was proud of them. It had only lasted a second before he turned to lead the way to the living room on this floor that he was referring to.

Fred brought Ophelia’s arm over his shoulder and helped her gently up from her spot on the wood floor. “Gave me a good scare there, Lupin. Better watch it. I don’t like seeing you scared unless it's from a prank of Georgie and my’s.” Behind the joking she could sense that he was still worried about her and possibly thinking about the image of his dead twin on the ground of the office. 

He sat her down on the green, velvet sofa that was in the living room just down the hall from the office. Fred moved out of the way so that Remus and Sirius could get a closer look at her. “How are you feeling, dear?” The Black blue eyes stared deep into her own as her biological father examined her. “Did you pass out?”

“No… Fred-- he stopped that from happening.” She shot her boyfriend a thankful glance before returning her attention to her fathers. “I promise, I’m okay.”

Her dad, Remus, laid a hand over her forehead, checking if she had a temperature before moving his hand to her wrist, to check her pulse. She was thrown back in a deja vu feeling of when he would do this in her old bedroom while tears would flow down her face when she would pass out from the nightmares or fears that filled her. “Old habits die hard?” She teased him as he gave her a small smile. “I’m okay, dad. I promise. It was the boggart.”

“We will have it removed by tomorrow.” Her father, Sirius, assured her. “I’ll make sure of it. Perhaps, you should journal about what happened. That might be best since we can’t take you to the Healer.”

She nodded. “I will. Promise.”

Mrs. Weasley swooped into the room with a tray of hot chocolates with thick whipped cream on the top of the inviting mugs. “Drink up, Weasleys.”

“Woah, Mum.” George joked as he picked up one of the blue mugs. “Do you know something that I don’t?”

Ginny laughed as she reached for a mug of hot chocolate. “Yea, Mum. I think you need to give it a few years before we can call Ophelia a Weasley officially.”

Fred and Ophelia were both the same shade of pink as they blushed from the embarrassment of Mrs. Weasley rambling about how she didn’t mean anything of that but she always will view Ophelia has her own. The other twin noticed their silent embarrassment and gave them a wicked wink. “So… Freddie… when are you popping the question?”

“Ophelia and I are just fine dating right now, George you prat.” Fred grabbed a hot chocolate for both of them and gave her a silent apology. 

“Don’t worry, Freddie. I think he’s just jealous that someday I’ll steal you from him.” Ophelia teased as she took a sip of the rich hot chocolate, already beginning to feel better from the sweetness. 

“I say you wait until your Dad and I are far too old so when we walk you down the aisle it will look more impressive. So… wait at least 10 years.” Sirius winked at her as he hid blushing cheeks of his own.

Her other father, Remus, was also blushing slightly. “I agree-- far too young.” He managed to choke out before the adults excused themselves from the room after checking once again that Ophelia was alright. 

When the door closed, Ophelia and Fred both hit Ginny and George at the same time. “You two are gits.” She snapped at the two laughing Weasley’s. “Why would you bring up marriage in front of my dads! How awkward! Freddie and I haven’t even been dating that long and we are still in school!.” 

Fred began to blush as brightly as his hair as he tried to ignore Ginny and George humming, _Here Comes the Bride_ , while George escorted Ginny down a pretend aisle in the middle of the living room. “You two are the worst.” He rolled his eyes and grabbed Ophelia’s elbow. “We are ignoring you two! Go annoy Ron.”

“Say no more!” George called out behind them as the two escaped from the office and went to Ophelia’s room to listen to some music on the CD-Rom player that Andromeda got her. 

“Sorry about all that.” Ophelia muttered as she hit shuffle and let the player decide what CD to play for them. Fred had magiced it so that she didn’t even have to put in or take out the CD players, but instead just hit shuffle and all of her music would get cycled through. Right now, the sounds of Stevie Nicks filled the air, making her feel like floating.

“Why are you apologizing? It’s my family. They’re nuts.” He laughed as he sank onto her bed and flipped through the Witch Weekly magazine that was flipped open on her quilt. 

She giggled. “Well, they’re related to you… what would I expect?”

“What are you saying, Lupin.” He teased as he wrapped his long arm around her waist and yanked her down onto the quilt. “Take it back.”

“Take what back?” She feigned innocents as he pinned down her wrists onto the quilt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Freddie.”

He bit down onto his lower lip as his brown eyes took in her flushed cheeks. “Damn, Ophelia…” With that comment she felt her cheeks grow more warm as the blood rushed up to her cheeks. “I-- I-- I’m speechless you’re so beautiful.”

“Oh shove off, Fred.” She rolled her eyes. She knew he was full of it since right now her curls were spread out wildly across the quilt and her cheeks were flushed from the attention and closeness of Fred. “I probably look ridiculous right now.”

He leaned down so that his lips were centimeters away from her own. “No… you’re stunning.” Fred sank down and connected their lips. She wanted to drag her hands through his hair but her hands were still pinned down by his own to the bed. 

His tongue danced with her own before he sank his lips to her jaw line, down to her neck, and onto her collarbone before they returned back up to nibble on her ear lobe. It sent shivers down her spine and she gasped from the surprise. “Freddie…” She moaned.

“Hold on.” He pulled out his wand from his back pocket and cast a Muffliato charm to the door and locked it. “I don’t want anyone interrupting us.” 

“Good…” She let out in a small whisper as she wrapped her hands into his hair before pulling his face back down onto her own. They snogged for what felt like ages and she was growing more and more impatient, wanting more of Freddie. She felt like she couldn’t get close enough to him.

He seemed to read her mind since he sat up and took his Gryffindor T-Shirt off, throwing it onto the ground next to her bed before his hungry eyes raked over her body. “Can… can I?” He gestured towards his old jumper that she was wearing with blushing cheeks.

Ophelia sat up eagerly and held up her arms for him to take the jumper off, revealing her black bra underneath. He moaned slightly at the sight of it and began to kiss her chest and her stomach, sending shivers and a warm sensation through her body. “Oh… Freddie…”

He gave her a wicked look. “I love when you say my name.”

She pursed her lips and whispered his name over and over again. This was driving him wild as he leaned against her and she could feel his length against her hip, it made her want him, desperately. “Freddie… I want you.”

“What?” He sat up abruptly from his spot where he was kissing her neck. “Are-- are-- are you sure?”

Ophelia nodded her head and brought his hands down to the band of her jeans and helped him unbutton them. “I love you, Fred.”

“I love you so much, Ophelia.” He moaned as he helped her jeans off from her legs. When he tossed them onto the wood floor his eyes returned to her body and he caressed her legs, chest, arms, all of her lovingly. “God, you’re so fucking beautiful.”

He slipped his finger under the band of her underwear and teased her a little before plunging his fingers into her, causing her to moan in pleasure. “Oh god, Freddie…” Ophelia moaned and sank her head into the pillow on her bed. 

Fred took his time, pleasuring her and enjoying the sounds she was making. He would kiss her lovingly and he left hickeys on her breasts and stomach. Soon, she was clutching the bedsheets and screaming his name as a release that she wasn’t familiar with washed through her body. 

“I love you.” Fred whispered into his ear as he reached for his wand and casted a charm on him that she wasn’t familiar with. “Are you sure about this?”

She shivered and pulled him down on top of her. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” 

Fred smiled down at her before gently guiding his length into her. She let out a small whimper as the stretch was unfamiliar, but not unwelcome. When he was fully inside her he let out a shuddered sigh and looked at her with wide eyes. “I’ve never done this before.” He admitted.

“I’ve never done this, either.” She blushed as he smiled down at her. 

He gently went in and out of her, working up so that he wouldn’t hurt her according to him. She wasn’t sure how he could hurt her since right now, it felt so good. After a while, and after she was begging for him to go faster, he delivered just that. Fred pinned down her wrist to the bed like he had down before and began to thrust into her, causing pleasure to course through Opehlia’s body and her to scream out his name. 

Fred held onto her body tightly as he sent his fingers down to play with her as he was going in and out of her. This continued for a while but the stimulation was too much for Ophelia and she felt the same heat flash through her as the room went slightly white as she screamed out his name. Fred seemed to have a similar type of release as he exclaimed and slumped down after he shivered. “Are you okay?” He asked after he took a few deep breaths and slowly pulled himself away from her as he looked worriedly down at her.

Ophelia wasn’t sure why he was so worried until she tried to get up and felt how shaken her legs felt. “Yea. I'm fine... just a little sore I think. Sorry, I didn't know what to expect. It was my first--”

“Don’t apologize.” Fred said sincerely as he crossed to stand in front of her. He placed his long hand along her face and stroked her blushed cheek. “I was just making sure you were okay.”

“I’m more than okay, Freddie.” She smiled and grabbed for his head to bring him down into a tender kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you so much, Ophelia.” He sighed into her lips. 

“Thank you for everything today…” She smiled. “I love you, I’m sorry I’m saying it so much. I just feel so taken care of when I’m with you.”

“Well good,” Fred kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to take care of you for as long as I live, O.” He blushed as he realized how serious his words were. “Always…”

“Always.” She whispered back to him before he leaned down to bring her into another tender kiss.


	63. Chapter Sixty-Three: Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ophelia’s eyes grew wide and she glanced at the twins. The three of them all said in unison, “Harry.”
> 
> Usually, the Hufflepuff girl didn’t condone apparating within the old Black residence. However, her anxiety to see Harry and make sure he was okay was too much for her to simply walk to Ron’s room. With three loud cracks, the twins and Ophelia materialized out of thin air in the middle of Ron’s room. “Stop doing that!” Hermione complained and looked at Ophelia. “I thought you knew better.”
> 
> Ophelia ignored the younger Gryffindor girl’s complaints and ran straight towards the furious Harry who was startled to see her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held back the tears as she thought of her nightmares and Boggarts and wondered if she could keep him safe at Hogwarts this year.

**Chapter Sixty-Three: Reunited**

Ophelia lounged on the green, velvet couch in the living room of No. 12 Grimmauld Place while Ginny and Ron were bent over a game of Exploding Snap in front of the empty fireplace as they bickered back and forth. Hermione and Ophelia were currently bent over books, studying for their upcoming year at Hogwarts. She was in the middle of a passage from her NEWT level Potions book when a loud CRACK filled the room and Fred was moving her feet so that they were over her. She winced a little from her sore legs which made her blush a deep red that Fred matched as well. “Sorry.” He muttered.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry about it.” Her face felt hot and flushed from the memory of last night and how her and Fred enjoyed each other.

George was snickering from his spot on the coffee table, “Working out?” He joked to Ophelia which earned him a Langlock curse, sending his tongue to be locked onto the top of his mouth from her wand.

“Good one.” Fred joked as he saw George struggle to do the counter-curse. “He deserved it, the git. Sense I  _ trusted him _ .” He said the last two words in a severe tone as if they were a reminder.

“What can you trust George with that you can’t tell me?” Ginny complained from her spot in front of the fireplace. “I bet Ophelia will tell me.”

“Absolutely not.” Fred and Ophelia said at the same time which earned them a roar of laughter from George. 

Before Ginny could push the matter any further, Mrs. Weasley was telling them to go upstairs otherwise they would be doing more cleaning tasks around the house since an important Order meeting was going on for only inner circle members. This meant, not Ophelia. The Hogwarts students complained as they gathered their things and went upstairs. Ginny went with the twins and Ophelia into the twins room where they were working on another batch of potions for their Skiving Snackbox. 

The youngest Weasley was growing impatient as Ophelia was ignoring her, sticking to her reading. “I don’t get why you are ignoring me. I thought we were friends, O.”

“That’s fucking low and you know it. It’s embarrassing.”

“Can I guess?” Ginny pushed with a mischievous look in her eyes. 

Ophelia glanced her blue eyes to her boyfriend who was working over a bubbling cauldron with George as they were talking in hushed voices and uncapping a muggle pen to write down some notes from their latest trial. She felt her face flush just by looking at him. “You have two guesses and no more.”

“Okay… did he propose?” She asked with wide and shocked eyes.

“Oh Godric no.” Ophelia laughed and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. “We are only 17, Gin. What do you think I am?”

“Okay… oh no.” Her face paled. “I don’t think I want to guess anymore. I think I know and I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, you don’t have to ask.” Ophelia blushed again and looked down at the paragraph about Wolfsbane. She read through another two lines before Ginny groaned from her spot next to her.

“I have to know for sure.” Ginny complained before leaving into Ophelia’s ear. “Did you… ya know… sleep with  _ Fred? _ ”

Ophelia bit her bottom lip and turned her eyes to Ginny, pleading through her look to not be mad at her for having sex with her older brother. “Yes.” She whispered which made Ginny turn slightly green and pretend to gag.

“That’s so disgusting.”

“What’s disgusting?” George asked as he whipped his hands off on an old rag that was on their work area. He looked at his sister's face and began to laugh. “You know, don’t you, Gin.”

“I am smarter than Ron…” Ginny said reluctantly. “I sort of pierced the information together. That’s so gross.”

Fred was blushing equally as hard as Ophelia now as he walked over to the girls. “Don’t tell Mum, Ginny. I’ll kill you if you do.”

“I’d be more afraid of Remus or Sirius finding out if I were you.” Ginny said with a fierce look. “Or Harry. I heard from Mum that they were getting an extra bed ready for him in the room that Ron is staying in.”

“You wouldn’t dare tell Harry, would you? Or Ron? Or Hermione? I don’t want people finding out.” Ophelia grabbed Ginny’s wrist. “Promise you won’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t, geeze.” The younger Gryffindor girl twisted her arm around out of the Hufflepuff’s grip, obviously having experience escaping from her older brothers growing up when they were trying to antagonize her. “Just please, don’t ever bring it up again.”

“Deal.” Ophelia smiled.

Ginny made a lame excuse to leave the room, avoiding looking at Fred and Ophelia as she left. The Hufflepuff girl was hoping that this wouldn’t ruin her friendship with Ginny. Knowing the Gryffindor girl, it wouldn’t, she would just need time to get used to that their relationship was getting more serious. Fred wrapped an arm around Ophelia’s waist. “That went… better than I thought if I’m being honest.”

“What did you think was going to happen?” She giggled.

“Well, for one, I thought Ginny would hex me into next week because she likes you so much and she has told me before that I’m not good enough for you.” He laughed. “Secondly, I thought that she was going to give us both some type of lecture, but then again, she’s not like Percy.”

“Oi! Lovebirds, wanna help me with our products?” George smirked at them as he tucked his wand behind his ear before stirring the bubbling potion in the cauldron. “We really need to get a move on these products if we want them ready to sell at Hogwarts.”

The three of them got to work, working on the newly perfected potions for the Skiving Snackboxes. There were only two products that were ready for retail so far and that’s what they were working on producing when they were interrupted by the sound of shouting coming from the direction of Ron’s room. “SO YOU HAVEN’T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU’VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN’T YOU? YOU’VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I’VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS’ FOR A MONTH!”

Ophelia’s eyes grew wide and she glanced at the twins. The three of them all said in unison, “Harry.”

Usually, the Hufflepuff girl didn’t condone apparating within the old Black residence. However, her anxiety to see Harry and make sure he was okay was too much for her to simply walk to Ron’s room. With three loud cracks, the twins and Ophelia materialized out of thin air in the middle of Ron’s room. “Stop doing that!” Hermione complained and looked at Ophelia. “I thought you knew better.”

Ophelia ignored the younger Gryffindor girl’s complaints and ran straight towards the furious Harry who was startled to see her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held back the tears as she thought of her nightmares and Boggarts and wondered if she could keep him safe at Hogwarts this year. “Hello, Harry.” George beamed at the black-haired boy. “We thought we heard your dulcet tones.”

“You don’t want to bottle up your anger like that, Harry, let it all out.” Fred added. “There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn’t hear you.”

“I see you three passed your Apparation tests, then?” Harry asked grumpily but did manage to return Ophelia’s hug.

“With distinction.” Fred beamed. “Of course, we all knew Ophelia was going to pass. I’m sure you are wondering how we passed. Don’t worry, I’m sure you lot will pass too.”

Ron grumbled from his spot on his bed. “It would’ve only taken you an extra thirty seconds to walk down the stairs.”

“Time is Galleons, little brother.” Fred beamed as he played with the Extendable Ear in his hand. “Besides, Ophelia was probably going to snap if she had to wait any longer to see Harry and we wanted to test out the Ears soon and all the yelling would’ve interfered with the reception.”

The Hufflepuff girl blushed and dropped her arms from Harry, finally breaking off the hug as she stared sheepishly at her soon to be brother once Sirius is cleared of his charges after the war. Harry raised his eyebrow and looked at the string. “Does that really work?”

“I helped make it, of course it works.” Ophelia winked as she sat down next to Fred on the bed that was sure to be Harry’s bed. “They’re trying to listen in on the Order meeting going on downstairs. It’s only for inner circle members, so I’m not allowed in.”

“You’re in the Order?” He asked with his green eyes wide. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m sure you heard all about the Dumbledore lock down on the letters. Besides, Sirius and Remus didn’t want any Death Eaters finding out that I’m working on becoming a Healer for the Order. In the last war, they targeted Healers. They thought that if all the Healers were dead or missing that any wounded would mean dwindling numbers and a quick victory. They don’t want that to happen to me.” She bit the hangnail on her pinky nail out of anxiety before Fred’s hand reached for her to hold it, comforting her through her worry.

Ginny walked in with her long hair tied back into a gryffindor scarlet and gold scrunchie at the base of her neck. Her face turned into a smile when she saw harry. “Oh hello, Harry! I thought I heard your voice.” She then turned her attention towards the twins and Ophelia. “It’s a no go with the Extendable Ears, she’s gone and put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door.”

“Damn.” George complained as he slumped down.

“Shame.” Fred sighed. “I really fancied finding out what old Snape’s been up to besides assigning my girlfriend heaps of pointless readings.”

“Snape?” Harry asked quickly as he glanced between Ophelia and Fred. “Is he here?”

“Yea.” George said as he carefully closed the door and sat down on the bed next to Fred. “Giving a report. Top secret.”

“Git.” Fred added idly which earned him a gentle whack from Ophelia.

“He’s been helping. He’s on our side now. Why would he take the time to train me to become a Healer if he wasn’t trying to help the Order?” She rubbed soothing circles on the back of Fred’s beater shirt that he was wearing. 

Ron snorted and shoved his hands deep into his jeans pockets. “Doesn’t stop him from being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us…”

“Bill doesn’t like him either,” said Ginny, as though that settled the matter. 

“I thought Bill was in Egypt.” Harry said as he sank onto the bed next to Ron. 

“He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order,” Fred chuckled. “He says he misses the tombs, but there are compensations…” 

“What d’you mean?” Harry asked with ruffled eyebrows.

“Remember old Fleur Delacour?” George asked with a smirk on his freckled face as he tossed a fever fudge in the air repeatedly. “She’s got a job at Gringotts to  _ eemprove ‘er Eeenglish _ .”

“Bill’s been giving her a lot of private lessons.” Fred sniggered which earned him a whack on the back of the head from Ophelia. “Sorry, you know it’s true.”

“Charlie’s in the Order too.” Ophelia added to the confused looking Gryffindor who was taking in all of the information that was being thrown at him. “He’s still in Romania.”

George nodded. “Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie’s trying to make contacts on his days off for the Order.”

“Couldn’t Percy do that?” Harry looked at the group in a confused manner.

She felt Fred and George tense on the bed at the mention of their older brother. Ron cleared his throat, “Whatever you do, don’t mention Percy in front of Mum and Dad.”

“Why not?” Harry asked as he glanced around the room at the people who were either shifting awkwardly at the mention of Percy or looking like they wanted to punch the old Headboy in the face. 

Fred laughed darkly before shaking his head. “Because every time Percy’s name is mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he’s holding and Mum starts crying.” 

Before Harry could ask, Ophelia filled in the gap. “Arthur and Percy had a row. I wasn’t there to see it but Fred and George said they’ve never seen their dad yell like that. He refused to move in with the Order when he was promoted. However, he was promoted to be the Junior Assistant to Fudge who is still going around the Ministry checking that nobody’s having any contact with Dumbledore. They all still think he’s making things up about You-Know-Who.”

“What does that have to do with Mr. Weasley?” 

Fred shook his head. “Dead reckons Fudge only wants Percy in his office because he wants to use him to spy on the family-- and Dumbledore.”

Ron sighed. “Percy went completely berserk. He said-- well, he said loads of terrible stuff. He said he’s been struggling against Dad’s lousy reputation ever since he joined the Ministry and that Dad’s got no ambition and that’s why we’ve always been00 you know00 not had a lot of money. And, it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to go down with him, and that Percy knew where his loyalty lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn’t belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He’s living in London now.”

“Mum’s been in a right state.” George sighed and shook his head as the group sat thinking about the weight that Mrs. Weasley has lost and the grey hairs she was sprouting out every day. “You know-- crying and stuff. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy but he slammed the door in her face.”

“But Percy  _ must _ know Voldemort’s back.” Harry said slowly. ‘He’s not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn’t risk everything without proof--”

“Harry…” Ophelia began cautiously, not wanting to set off the Gryffindor boy again. “Your name got dragged into the row. Percy said the only evidence was your word and he didn’t think it was good enough. I wrote to him and tried to explain that surely he couldn’t think that Cedric wouldn’t--” she broke off as the tears built up in her eyes and Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close against his body.

“What O was saying, she tried explaining that you were telling the truth because Cedric was murdered, he didn’t die by accident. He still won’t lay off his theory that the only evidence is your word and he doesn’t think it’s good enough.”

“Percy takes the Daily Prophet seriously.” Hermione snipped as she flicked her curly hair over her shoulder with disgust. “They’be been slipping in your name here and there like a standing joke, I’m sorry, Harry.”

Ophelia was trying to wipe away the tears in her eyes and tuned out the conversation about the Prophet. She didn’t want to relive the Summer and the talk that Cedric wasn’t murdered but instead a tragic accident of young magic. She got up and excused herself from the room to go and freshen up in the bathroom, or ball her eyes out. She wasn’t sure what her mood was yet.

On her way to the bathroom, Kreacher ran into her and noticed that she was crying. “Does Mistress Ophelia like a cloth for her emotions?” He asked as he bowed so low that his nose was touching the ground.

“Y-Yes Kreacher. That would be nice.”

With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared before re-materializing with an old handkerchief in his hands. It was an emerald green color and he handed it to her. “This was supposed to be Master Sirius’ but of course he was sorted into a disgraceful house.”

She picked up the cloth and noticed that it was a Slytherin handkerchief with an embroidered  _ Sirius _ in the corner next to a serpent. “Thank you, Kreacher. Will you please go, so I can be by myself?”

“Anything for the Heir of the Black family.” He backed up still bowing as he went back to cleaning the house. 

She closed the door behind her as she walked into the bathroom and starred in the mirror at her reflection. Her bright blue eyes were now puffy and filled with salty tears. Her cheeks were flushed from crying and her hair was a little frantic from darting out of the room so the others wouldn’t see her cry. Ophelia knew that she had to calm down and control her breathing so this wouldn’t turn into a panic attack. She had to be strong for Harry. That was her new goal for this year. Grades didn’t matter when Voldemort and his followers were lurking around the corner waiting to murder you.

She would have to learn enough to stay sharp and watch out for Harry and the Weasley’s. She would do everything in her power to protect those who she loves. 


	64. Chapter Sixty-Four: Dinner with the Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Of course. I don’t intend to tell Harry more than what he needs to know, Molly. But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to--”
> 
> “He’s not a member of the Order of the Phoenix! I know you let Ophelia in and that was a horrible mistake. Harry should not be dragged into this too, he’s only 15 and--” Mrs. Weasley began but Sirius cut her off.
> 
> “-- and he’s dealt with as much as most in the Order! Do not tell me how to raise my daughter. I think that allowing her to train as a Healer is the right thing to do. Now for Harry,--”
> 
> “No one’s denying what he’s done, Sirius!” Molly complained as her fists trembled. “But he’s still a boy!”

**Chapter Sixty-Four: Dinner with the Order**

After Ophelia was able to contain her emotions, she allowed herself to join the others as if nothing had happened. They were all in the kitchen downstairs, the Order meeting having finished up so the kids could join them for dinner. She walked up and Harry gave her a side hug, as he raised his eyebrows to ask if she was okay. She waived his worry off since he was in the middle of talking to her Dads. “Sit down, Harry.” Sirius said with a smile. “You’ve met Mundungus, haven’t you?” He jabbed the man in rags who was snoring on the dinner table. “Meeting’s over, Dung.”

“Eh?” He sighed as he was waking up and rubbed his eyes. “Blimey, so he has. Yeah… you all right?”

“No thanks to you.” Ophelia grumbled under her breath which caused Sirius to chuckle and Remus to shake his head disapprovingly

“Well, I better be off.” Mundungus coughed awkwardly after glancing between Ophelia’s crossed arms and Harry’s curious look.

As the grimy Order Member snuck out to do who-knows-what, Ophelia sat down to the right of Harry who sat down next to Sirius and Remus. “I swear, it’s lucky that I wasn’t the one who found Mundungus after he abandoned his post, I would’ve made sure to jinx him into next week for you, Harry.”

“Oh you sound more and more like Marlene every meeting.” Remus sighed and rubbed his face. “To think you’re becoming more like her is a little scary.”

“I think it’s brilliant.” Sirius smiled before turning his attention back to Harry. “We will have to show you around the Headquarters. You and Opehlia will be the next owners of No. 12 Grimmauld Place being the Heir of the Black family--”

He was cut off by Mrs. Weasley as she screamed at the twins who were trying to help bring the food to the dining table with magic. “Fred-- George-- NO, JUST CARRY THEM!”

The twins were betwitching a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife, to hurtle through the air towards the group at the table. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface. “For heaven’s sake! There was no need for this! Just because you’re allowed to use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands now for every tiny little thing!”

Fred hurried trying to cast an anti-burning charm on the table to remove the dark stains while George cleaned up the Butterbeer that sloshed out of the top of the iron flagon. “Sorry, SIrius… We didn’t mean--” Fred looked up hurriedly at Ophelia’s father but Sirius, Harry, and Ophelia were laughing so hard from the look of disappointment on Mrs. Weasley’s face and the frantic way the twins were cleaning. 

For a few minutes, everyone ate in silence. There wasn’t any other sound besides the chink of plates and cutlery and for the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Finally, Mrs. Weasly spoke up. “Sirius, I’ve been meaning to tell you, there’s something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. I think it's a boggart, but I think it be best to ask Alastor to have a loot at it since last time--” 

“Whatever you like.” Sirius said indifferently while shooting Ophelia a glance, he must’ve been thinking about her Boggart experience. 

Fred wrapped his hand around her’s, over her fork, she hadn’t realized that her hand was shaking at the thought of the dead people she loved in front of her. Harry noticed and gave her a look, she sighed knowing that she would have to fill him in on the Boggart experience when they talked about their Summers. She turned her attention over to Sirius who was eyeing Harry curiously. “You know, I’m surprised at you. I thought the first thing you’d do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort.”

The atmosphere quickly changed as everyone became alert around the table. Ophelia squeezed Fred’s hand a little harder and looked nervously between her father and Harry. “I did!” Harry huffed. “I asked Ron and Hermione but they said that we're not allowed in the Order, so--”

“And they’re quite right.” Mrs. Weasley sniffed as she began to clean up some of the empty plates. “You’re too young.”

“Since when did someone have to be in the Order of Phoenix to ask questions?” asked Sirius. “Harry’s been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. He’s got the right to know what’s been happen--” 

“Hang on!” George interrupted loudly.

“How come Harry gets his questions answered?” Fred asked in an equally angry tone. “I understood that Ophelia was allowed to know some things since she’s training in the Order, but it’s not fair, Harry is only 15!”

“It’s not my fault you haven’t been told what the Order’s doing. That’s your parents’ decision. Harry, on the other hand--” Sirius began but was cut off.

“It’s not down to you to decide what’s good for Harry. You haven’t forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?” Mrs. Weasley challenged as she crossed her arms over her chest with a look of rage in her normally kind eyes. 

“Of course. I don’t intend to tell Harry more than what he needs to know, Molly. But as he was the one who saw Voldemort come back, he has more right than most to--”

“He’s not a member of the Order of the Phoenix! I know you let Ophelia in and that was a horrible mistake. Harry should not be dragged into this too, he’s only 15 and--” Mrs. Weasley began but Sirius cut her off.

“-- and he’s dealt with as much as most in the Order! Do not tell me how to raise my daughter. I think that allowing her to train as a Healer is the right thing to do. Now for Harry,--”

“No one’s denying what he’s done, Sirius!” Molly complained as her fists trembled. “But he’s still a boy!”

“They’re not children! Ophelia is of age and Harry has experienced more than most around this table will in a lifetime.” Sirius raised his voice and slammed his hand on the table.

“He’s not an adult either! He’s not James! She’s not Marlene!”

“I’m perfectly clear who they are, thank you, Molly.” Sirius said coldly.

“Sometimes, the way you talk about him, it’s as though you think you’ve got your best friend back. They are both still in school and adults responsible for the two of them should not forget it!” Mrs. Weasley was turning a bright red color as her thoughts on how Harry and Ophelia were being treated was coming to light.

“Are you saying I’m an irresponsible father and godfather?” demanded Sirius as he went to stand but Remus held him down in his seat. 

“Arthur! Back me up!” Mrs. Weasley demanded as she eyed Mr. Weasley.

He did not speak at once. He took off his glasses and cleaned them slowly before replacing them and sighing, “Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry will have to be filled in to a certain extent now that he is staying at headquarters. He also sees Ophelia as a trustworthy ally to train her to become a Healer with Snape.”

“Yes but there’s a difference between that and inviting him to ask whatever he likes!”

“Personally,” her father Remus began as he glanced between Sirius and Mrs. Weasley. “I think it’s better that Harry gets the facts-- not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture-- from us, rather than gargled version from… others.” He eyed the twins who were turning red thinking about the extendable ears and the amount of times that they’ve drilled Ophelia on information from the meetings. 

“I want to know what’s going on.” Harry insisted and he looked at Ophelia who gave him an encouraging smile. “I’ll just ask Ophelia later on what she knows if you won’t tell me, Remus is right.”

“Very well.” Mrs. Weasley sniffled. “Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George… I want you out of this kitchen, now.”

“We’re of age!” The twins roared together in outrage. 

“Molly, dear.” Mr. Weasley put a tentative hand on her shoulder. “You can’t stop Fred and George. They are of age and Ophelia is rather close to them… they will get a garbled version of details like Lupin was referring to.”

“Fine. Fred and George can stay but--” Mrs. Weasley went on before Ron hastily stood up.

“Mum… Harry’ll tell me and Hermione everything you say anyway!” The youngest Weasley boy looked frantically between his best friend and his mother. “Won’t you, Harry!”

“Fine!” Mrs. Weasley let out in a cry. “Ginny-- BED!”

The youngest Weasley girl went kicking and screaming all the way up the stairs to her room where she slammed her door shut. Ophelia made a mental note to try and remember the details of the meeting as much as possible to tell her friend. “Okay, Harry…” Her father Sirius spoke first after the atmosphere settled slightly. “What do you want to know?”

Ophelia squeezed his shoulder slightly in encouragement as he looked like his mind was reeling at the possibility of asking any question. He took a deep breath and smiled at her before continuing. “Where’s Voldemort? What’s he doing? I’ve been trying to watch the Muggle news and there hasn’t been anything that looks like him yet, no funny deaths or anything--” 

The evening continued like this as Harry went off on asking questions while various members of the Order answered him to the best of their ability while still not going to far into details. It was all information that Ophelia was already aware of until the very end. 

“What does Voldemort want apart from followers?”

Her fathers exchanged a look before Sirius cleared his throat. “Something he can only get by stealth. Like a weapon. Something he didn’t have last time.”

“I didn’t know about any weapon.” Ophelia grumbled to the twins who gave her a look. This meant that this was top secret information that only inner circle members of the Order knew about. Mrs. Weasley’s furious look confirmed this theory. 

“Like what kind of weapon? Something worse than _Avada Kedavra?_ ” Harry asked with a puzzled look on his face.

“That’s enough!” Mrs. Weasley snapped as she jumped to her feet. “I want you in bed, now. All of you.” She shot a glance at every Hogwarts student at the table. 

“You can’t boss us--” Fred began but his mother shot him a look that challenged him to try and speak back to her.

“Watch me.” Mrs. Weasley snarled. “You’ve given Harry plenty of information. ANy more and you might just as well induct him into the Order straight away.”

“Why not? Ophelia gets to help, I want to join too--”

“No.” Her father Remus said with a sigh. “The Order is only composed of overage wizards. Wizards who have left school or have special permission from their parents. Ophelia is the youngest member but she’s not even a full member. She’s in training so that we can use her potions and herbology skills to become a Healer for the Order if a war happens again like the first time. There are dangers involved of which you can have no idea, any of you… I think Molly is right, Sirius. We’ve said enough. It is time for bed.” 

Ophelia quickly gave Sirius and Remus a hug before darting off upstairs to go to her room and right down in her journal. She flicked open the black journal before retrieving a quill from her desk and got to work.

_Dear Cedric,_

_Harry is at Headquarters. He’s furious that people are hiding information from him. I can’t blame him. I would be mad too._

_I’m going to jot something down very quickly so I don’t forget._

_Voldemort… he’s looking for a weapon. I need to do research as soon as I get to Hogwarts in the restricted section to find something. Maybe I can help the Order and Harry with research. I wish you could help me. I miss you._

_Goodnight._

_Love,_

_Ophelia_

Just as she was letting the ink dry, her door creaked open and she snapped her head around to see who the intruder to her room was. A bright red head poked in and she saw Fred sneak into her room. “What’re you doing?” She giggled as she got up to shut the door behind him and make sure no one in the hallway saw him come in.

“Coming to bother the youngest member of the Order, of course.” He teased her as he ruffled her dark curls. “I was actually coming here to check on you.”

“I’m okay, sorry I ran out of Ron’s room earlier. I just hate when the Prophet denies Cedric’s death. It’s just so unfair.” She shook her head and laid down on her bed. “I wish I could just shake those stupid writers and explain to them that Cedric wasn’t stupid. He was really careful and wouldn’t have made a mistake like that.”

Fred sank on the bed next to her and wrapped her in his arms. “I know, O… I know.” He kissed her forehead and played with her curls in a soothing manner. “Do you think the nightmares will come tonight?”

“Probably.” She sighed. “They always do when I think about his death for too long.”

“Let me stay with you, protect you from your own thoughts.”

“Are you kidding? Your mother or my dad would kill you if they found out that you slept in my room!” Her breathing hitched at the thought of Sirius chasing Fred around the house, threatening to hex him. 

“I’ll sneak out in the morning. No one will know a difference. I’ve put a bunch of pillows on my bed to look like I’m sleeping.” 

“You sneaky, little--” Before the Hufflepuff girl could finish her sentence, Fred kissed her lips gently. “That’s a nice way of getting me to shut up.”

He laughed before pulling her in closer to him and sighing into her curls. “Go to sleep, Ophelia. I’ll rub your back to help you sleep.” With a flick of his wand, he locked the door and turned off the lights before tucking them both under her thick, quilt that Molly made for her. “Goodnight, Ophelia.”

“Mmmm… Goodnight, Freddie.” She sighed as the heat from his body and the comforting circles he was rubbing on her back helped her lure into a dreamless slumber. 


	65. Chapter Sixty-Five: Ministry Hearing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You all seem quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I’d get off.” Harry smiled sheepishly as Hermione let him go out of her bear hug.
> 
> The twins and Ginny began to do some silly sort of war dance as they shouted throughout the room, “He got off, he got off, he got off--”
> 
> Ophelia took the opportunity to go and give Harry a big hug. “I’m so relieved! I won’t lie to you, I was worried sick all day long. The ministry is full of tossers and I was so worried they were going to make an example out of you. Of course, if they did that, I’d have to go personally kick Fudge’s ass--”
> 
> “Ophelia!” Mrs. Wesley complained. “Language!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer than what I normally write! Sorry about that, there was just so much information I had to squeeze into this chapter. Sit down and enjoy! I'm hoping that next chapter will be back to the normal length. :)

**Chapter Sixty-Five: Ministry Hearing**

Mrs. Weasley kept all of the children who were staying at No. 12 Grimmauld Place rather busy with cleaning tasks. Luckily for Ophelia, she managed to wiggle her way out of them by a little bit of tears at the memory of her last cleaning task and reminding the motherly figure that she needed to continue to work on potions for the Order. Dumbledore had asked her to try her hand at a Polyjuice Potion to keep in storage  _ just in case _ . 

She was determined to get it right on her first chance since she had overheard Hermione bragging about how she had made a Polyjuice Potion in her second year. Ophelia was following her potions books very carefully and trying to avoid looking at the clock in her bedroom. She knew that time had probably passed by very slowly but it was almost impossible to not think about where Harry was today.

_ Was he alone and scared? _

_ Was Dumbledore with him yet? Helping him? _

_ Would he be expelled from Hogwarts? _

Her inner monologue of worry was cut off by two loud cracks that filled her room. The twins plopped down onto her bed and smiled at her. “Hello, Ophelia.” George cheered as he eyed the cauldron. “Smells rather nasty, how’s the potion coming along?”

“Alright… I’m just trying to keep busy to not think about how Harry is doing.” Her voice cracked a little at the mention of Harry’s name. It was too much for a fifteen year old boy to deal with, Harry was bound to catch a break soon from all the bad luck that was thrown his way. “Aren’t you two supposed to be helping your mum clean?”

Fred blushed a little. “Guilty! We sort of pretended to go take out some trash and got lost on the way back because this certainly isn’t the broom closet on the second floor.”

“You two are awful. Go help you mother and siblings.” She playfully snapped her towel that was on her workbench for accidental spills at the twins which caused them to jump up. “I don’t want to be blamed for you two going missing from your work.”

“We can say we are helping the Order make potions!” George smiled as he stood up to observe her work.

“Oh yea, and then I’ll have your Mum on my case about corrupting you two and bringing you into the Order. No way.” She whacked her friend lightly in the chest with her wand. “Stay away from the potion, you two!”

Before they could bicker any more they heard Ron and Hermione shouting from downstairs. The three seventeen year olds looked at each other before simultaneously apparating downstairs to see what all the commotion was about. As soon as Ophelia’s ears re-materialized in the walkway, she heard the ending of Hermione’s sentence. “--bound to clear you! There was no case against you, none at all!”

“You all seem quite relieved, though, considering they all knew I’d get off.” Harry smiled sheepishly as Hermione let him go out of her bear hug.

The twins and Ginny began to do some silly sort of war dance as they shouted throughout the room, “ _ He got off, he got off, he got off--” _

Ophelia took the opportunity to go and give Harry a big hug. “I’m so relieved! I won’t lie to you, I was worried sick all day long. The ministry is full of tossers and I was so worried they were going to make an example out of you. Of course, if they did that, I’d have to go personally kick Fudge’s ass--”

“Ophelia!” Mrs. Wesley complained. “Language!”

“Sorry, Molly.” She blushed as she let go of Harry. 

Mr. Weasley was smiling from ear to ear but he finally had enough of the twins and Ginny’s antics. “That’s enough, settle down! Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry--”

“What?” Her father said sharply.

“We saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, then they went up to Fudge’s office together. Dumbledore ought to know.”

“Absolutely. We’ll tell him, don’t worry.” Sirius nodded and absent mindedly put a hand on both Harry and Ophelia’s shoulders as if to protect them from whatever Lucius Malfoy was planning. 

“Well, I better be back to work.” Mr. Weasley swooped down to kiss his wife’s forehead and smiled at all of the children. “Behave while I’m gone! I’ll be late, I have to cover for Tonks’.” 

“Come on, you lot. Let’s celebrate with some cookies and pies.” Mrs. Weasley beamed and ushered the children into the kitchen.

“Ophelia.” Her fathers were looking at the group. “A word, quickly.”

She hung back as the twins gave her glances before ducking into the kitchen of No. 12 Grimmauld Place. “What’s going on?”

“Thankfully, Harry will be returning to school. However--” Her dad sighed and the scars on his face stretched in stress. “The Ministry is not on his side. It is imperative that you help him this year. I know that Hermione and Ron mean well but you’re a bright witch. You’re older and you’re already in training to become a Healer. I need you to keep your eyes open and on guard at all times. I don’t trust what’s going on with Lucius Malfoy.”

“Fucking git.” Sirius scowled. “Never did like him. Ophelia, you need to make sure you are staying out of too much trouble with the twins so if the time does come to protect Harry you can with professors support. You can always go to McGonagall if you expect anything is going on. I would say you could go to Snivelous but I don’t trust him either.” 

She nodded. “I’ll make sure he’s safe. I’ll keep you two updated also on how he’s doing. Promise.”

“You’re such a good girl, O.” Her father Remus wrapped her into a tight hug. “We are so proud of you.”

“You’re doing great, kid.” Sirius ruffled her curly hair and gave her a kind smile. “Now, go join the others before the Weasley boys eat all of the sweets.”

The rest of the day flew by with cleaning the house and cheering for Harry’s cleared charges with the Ministry. The next morning, the book lists arrived for her final year at Hogwarts. Ophelia was overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia as she realized that she would never again get a list of books to buy at school. The twins grabbed her shoulders at the table when they got a hold of the other Gryffindor boys' letters and apparated her up into their room before she could tell them not to. 

“We were just wondering who assigned the Slinkhard book,” Fred said as though he was in the room the entire time.

“Because that means Dumbledore has found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.” George added to the confused looking 5th years. 

“It’s about time.” Ophelia said sadly. “At the last Order meeting I was allowed to attend, they were discussing that he was having a hard time finding anyone who would want to do it because there isn’t a good track record for the DADA professors.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked. 

“Well let’s see--” Fred began.

“One sacked--” George added.

“One dead--”

“One’s memory removed--”

“And one locked into someone’s trunk for 9 months!” They finished in unison.

“What’s the matter with you, Ron?” Ophelia asked after laughing at the twins’ antics. 

The youngest Weasley boy was staring at a piece of parchment with his mouth hanging open like he couldn’t believe whatever the letter said. “Let’s see it.” Fred said impatiently as he moved around to look over his younger brother’s shoulder. “Prefect?!”

George leapt up at that word and seized the envelope in Ron’s other hand, and turned it upside down. A scarlet and gold pin fell into George’s palm with the word  _ Prefect _ written on the front. “I wasn’t even made prefect!” Ophelia huffed knowing that her grades were far better than Ron’s. “Maybe there isn’t as much competition for Gryffindors.”

“There's been a mistake.” Fred said in disbelief as he searched the letter for another name. “No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect…”

“Oh Mum is going to be revolting.” George groaned as he gave the prefect badge to Harry to examine. “I won’t be able to eat in peace for at least a week because ickle Ronikins will be all she wants to talk about.”

The door to the boys’ room swung open and Hermione glanced around the room before she spotted the scarlet and gold pin in Harry’s hand. “I knew it! Me too, Harry, me too! I just knew that Dumbledore would make you prefect!”

“Oh no…” Harry said awkwardly as he pushed the badge into Ron’s palm who still hasn’t said a word the entire time. “It’s not mine. It’s Ron that’s the prefect, not me.”

“ _ Ron? _ ” The Gryffindor girl’s jaw dropped. “But… are you sure?”

Ron turned around to look at his friend with a bright red face. “It’s my name on the letter.”

“I… well-- wow! Well done, Ron! That’s really--”

“Unexpected?” George offered.

“No…” Hermione shook her head and began to blush. “No, it’s not… Ron’s done loads of stuff… he’s really…”

The door opened up again and Mrs. Weasley was carrying a pile of freshly laundered robes into the room. “Ginny said the book lists had come at last. If you give them to me I’ll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon and get your books while you’re packing. Ron, I’ll have to get your more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short, I can’t believe how fast you’re growing. What color would you like, dear?”

“Get him red and gold to match the badge.” Fred said, smirking.

“Match his what?” Mrs. Weasley looked at the twins with a confused look on her face.

“His  _ badge _ .” Fred pressed again. “His lovely shiny new  _ prefect’s badge _ .”

Mrs. Weasely let out a loud shriek of joy. “I don’t believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That’s everyone in the family!”

“What are Fred and I, next-door neighbors?” George said as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around Ron.

Ophelia rubbed the twins’ back. “It’s okay. You guys are like bad boys because you weren’t prefects, much hotter.”

As Mrs. Weasley danced out of the room to go and get Ron’s gift of choice for becoming a prefect, a new broom, the twins were making fake gagging noises like they were going to throw up at the thought of Ron being a Gryffindor prefect. “You don’t mind if we don’t kiss your feet, do you Ron?” Fred said in a fake anxious voice which earned a snicker from Ophelia and Harry.

“We could curtsy, if you like!” George provided as he pretended to bow down to his younger brother. 

“Shut up!” Ron roared as he shoved the two twins.

“Or what?” Fred challenged with a wicked grin spreading across his freckled features. “Going to put us in detention?”

“He could if you don’t watch out.” Hermione said angrily with her hands on her hips.

The twins and Ophelia burst out into laughter at the image of Ron trying to chase the twins down in the hallway at Hogwarts to give them a detention slip. “We’re going to have to watch our step, Georgie. With these two on our case--”

“It looks like our law-breaking days are finally over.” George snickered. 

Fred grabbed a hold of Ophelia’s hand and with a  _ crack _ they disapparated out of the boys’ room into the twins’. They were still doubling over in laughter at the thought of Ron and Hermione trying to discipline the older Weasley boys. 

Things only got worst when it came time for dinner. When the group, who now were joined by Ginny who was also laughing about Ron being a prefect, walked downstairs, they say that Mrs. Weasley had decorated the dining room with a scarlet banner that said  _ Congratulations Ron and Hermione-- New Gryffindor Prefects _ . “You’ve got to be joking, it’s like they won a major award or something. I was never made prefect and I’m top of my class. That little badge doesn’t mean anything.” Ophelia sniffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance. 

“Your father and Bill are on their way, Ron! I’ve sent them both owls and they are thrilled with your accomplishment!” Mrs. Weasley gave her youngest son a big kiss on the cheek.

The twins both rolled their eyes and they sat down at the dinner table. Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, and Shacklebolt were already there and Mad-Eye Moody stumped in after them the group of children. Mrs. Weasley began to talk to him about the drawing room desk. “I can’t believe that Ron was chosen as prefect.” Fred complained as he poured himself and Ophelia a butterbeer. “I mean honestly…”

“I think Professor Sprout didn’t chose me to be prefect because of you two idiots so it serves you right that you both weren’t chosen as prefects.” Ophelia sniffed before she took a long drag of the foamy butterbeer. 

“Oi! I didn’t see you complaining whenever we snuck out Honeydukes treats and sat behind the tapestry near the library.” George joked around as he dodged a swipe of Ophelia’s hand as he went to sit down next to his twin.

“I think a toast is in order!” Mr. Weasley called out to the group once everyone was seated with their drinks. “To Ron and Hermione, the new Gryffindor prefects at Hogwarts!”

Ophelia couldn’t help but to applause with the adults around the table at the proud look of the two Gryffindors. She knew that being a prefect was hard work and she was actually thankful she didn’t have that added responsibility to deal with, despite how she was acting now. “Don’t sweat not being prefect, Harry.” Tonks said with a smile. “I was never a prefect myself. Sprout said I didn’t have the necessary qualities for the job.”

“Like what?” Ginny asked.

“Like the ability to behave myself.” Tonks said with a laugh. 

“How about you, Sirius? Were you ever prefect?” Ginny turned her attention to Ophelia’s dad who just choked in surprise on some of his butterbeer. 

After he recovered from his laughter, he shook his head. “No one would have made me a prefect, I spent too much time in detention with James. Lupin was the good boy, he got the badge.”

“I think Dumbledore might have hoped that I would be able to exercise some control over my best friends. I need scarcely say that I failed dismally.” Her father smiled, stretching the scars on his face. “I mean, hell, even when Ophelia went to Hogwarts, I couldn’t steer her into the direction of well mannered friends.”

The twins both blushed. “I guess you’re referring to us.”

“Between your pranks and Grace’s boy obsession, O was doomed from the beginning.” Her dad smiled at her, showing her that his words didn’t match what he truly thought of her. 

Everyone around the table, loaded up their plates with Mrs. Weasley’s delicious food and began to break off into smaller conversations. Hermione was talking to her dad Remus about Elf rights whereas the twins were talking Harry’s ear off about their latest Weasley Wizard Wheezes products that they were making. Neither of the conversations peaked her interest, so she turned to listen to her other dad, Sirius talk to Shacklebolt. “I just don’t understand why Harry wasn’t chosen, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for Ronald but Harry has done so much for that damn school and Dumbledore.”

Shacklebolt sighed. “I’m sure Dumbledore has his reasons. He’s always thinking three steps ahead, you know. I’m sure we will discover the reasoning next year this time and feel stupid that we couldn’t see the answer ourselves.”

Sirius seemed to notice that they were being eavesdropped on because he turned to Ophelia. “You know, for a Black you really are rubbish at sneaking around.”

“That’s not true… I sneak around Hogwarts loads of times with the twins and I never get caught. That’s why I’m the lookout.” She put her nose in the air as she scooped a forkful of buttery baked potato into her mouth. 

He laughed. “Oh you are so like your dads. Remus and I would get into loads of trouble, well Remus would somehow wiggle his way out of it. I’m sure you do the same since I know that the twins get into heaps of trouble. Your lucky your fathers had a taste for trouble, we understand.”

Ophelia giggled and she looked back down on her plate to finish her food. When she turned around she saw that the twins had snuck off from the dinner table. She excused herself to go look for them. Sure enough, they were locked up in their room working on some products. When she pushed their door open, they frantically hid the items. “Sorry, Mum! We were full-- oh, Ophelia.” Fred sighed in relief when he saw that it was her in the doorway instead of Mrs. Weasley. “Sorry, we got a little paranoid.”

“It’s alright. I came looking for you two since you ditched me.” She accused them as she plopped onto Fred’s bed and hugged his pillow against her chest.

“We didn’t ditch you.” George teased. “You were talking to your dad.”

Ophelia opened her mouth to say something when they heard a scream coming from the drawing room. The three of them got up and ran over to see what was going on. Harry was going to check it out as well since he was peaking his head through the doorway. 

When they got a look, they saw Mrs. Weasley cowering against the dark wall, her wand clutched tightly in her hand so that her knuckles were turning white. Her entire body was trembling as tears were streaming down her freckled face. 

Ophelia let out a gasp as she saw what was making Mrs. Weasley cry, Ron was lying dead on the floor. Suddenly, the body morphed into Bill’s body as he laid down on his back with his eyes staring wide and empty at the ceiling, just how Cedric’s had the night of the last task in the tournament. “M-M-Mrs. Weasely, it’s a boggart!”

Fred and George searched for their wands, but they were abandoned in their room. With a crack, the boggart turned into Mr. Weasley and his glasses were askew on his face as a trickle of blood ran down his face with the same cold and dead eyes. There was another crack and the twins let out a gasp as they saw their own dead bodies lying on the ground in a heap. Another crack and there was Percy. Another crack and Ophelia and Harry’s bodies were lying on the ground with their arms around each other like they were trying to protect each other from a fatal blow. 

“Get out of the way!” Her father Remus called to the children in the doorway as he flung himself in front of Mrs. Weasley. The boggart made a crack noise and it turned into a silvery, full moon in the sky before he flourished his wand and sent the Boggart into a puff of smoke. “Molly, don’t…” Mrs. Weasley was sobbing into his chest. “Molly, it was just a boggart. Just a stupid boggart…”

“I see them d-d-dead all the time! All the t-t-time! I dream about it…”

Sirius followed into the room behind her other dad and stared at the carpeted floor where the boggart had been. He glanced up to look at Harry and Ophelia and gave them a quick hug, as if to make sure they were still alive. While they were hugging, she heard Mrs. Weasley say in a hushed voice. “D-d-don’t tell Arthur. I d-d-don’t want him to know… Being silly is all… I’m just so w-w-woried. Half of my f-f-family’s in the Order, it’ll be a m-m-miracle if we all come through this… What if something dreadful h-h-happens and we never made up with P-P-Percy? And what’s going to happen if Arthur and I get killed, who’s g-g-going to look after the children?”

“Molly, that’s enough.” Her father held Mrs. Weasley by her shoulders so that she had to look at his face when he spoke. “This is not like the first time around. The Order is better prepared, we’ve got a head start, we know what Voldemort’s up to. I can’t promise no one is going to get hurt, nobody can promise that, but we’re much better off than we were last time, you weren’t in the Order then, you don’t understand. Last time we were outnumbered twenty to one by Death Eaters and they were picking us off one by one. I wouldn’t let Ophelia become a Healer for the Order if I didn’t think that we stood a good chance of winning this time around.”

Her father Sirius gave Mrs. Weasley a side hug. “Don’t worry about Percy, Molly. He’ll come around. It’s a matter of time before Voldemort moves into the open; once he does, the whole Ministry’s going to be begging us to forgive them. And I’m not sure I’ll be accepting their apology.” He laughed bitterly. 

“As for who’s going to look after your children, what do you think we’d do, let them starve?” Her father Remus smiled. “I know that Harry and Ophelia were taken care of despite their situations, we wouldn’t let Ginny and Ron go hungry. The twins are almost of age, they would be able to make a life for themselves, and your three oldest are already successful in their careers.” 

Mrs. Weasley smiled at the two Order members and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, I’m just being silly is all. I think I better go lay down… too much excitement for one day.” On her way out, she gave Ophelia and Harry a big squeeze before doing the same to the twins and giving her sons a big kiss on each cheek. “Goodnight, kids.” She sniffled before heading to her room. 

Ophelia turned to her fathers and thought of what they had said. The first time around, they were fighting in a battle field as there were 20 Death Eaters to one of them. She let out a little squeak in her throat before she bound across the room to give them each a fierce hug. “I love you two. I hope you know that.” She said in a small voice, afraid to speak any louder for fear that her voice would crack and reveal how nervous she was about this war. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I obviously do not own any of the characters in this story I just thought of this idea while I was thinking about Hogwarts the other day.


End file.
